Careful planning key to successful recycling - Property Management Supplement

Recycling is nowadays an established reality in commercial buildings in New York City. Most large buildings now have recycling systems of some type in place. These systems vary from basic mixed paper systems with wet waste from cafeterias being the only separation, to full source separation systems which could be separating seven or eight different types of materials.

These systems have been implemented for several reasons. Local Law 87 requires all commercial properties to recycle. The requirements of this law are different for dry waste generators than for wet waste generators. Various paper grades need to be separated from office buildings, whereas glass, metal and plastic containers must be separated from restaurants and cafeterias. Both types of business need to recycle cardboard.

Perhaps more importantly, recycling has proven itself as a cost-saving measure for almost all commercial properties. Reductions in waste removal expenses from 10 percent to 90 percent have been reported by properties ranging from office towers to hotels to restaurants. The rationale for this is simple: materials when they are separated have greater value than when they are mixed together as trash. Even if there is a charge for removal of separated recyclables, it will always be less than the market rate for garbage. The net cost savings can be substantial.

For example, a one million square-foot office tower could have been paying upward of $25,000 per month for a 30 yard compactor to be removed each night. Studies show that the contents of a typical compactor for a building of this size might be 30 percent cardboard, 20 percent white office paper, and 35 percent mixed office paper. The remainder is probably not recyclable. If those various grades were separated from garbage, at market rate they could be removed at no charge in today's market, and perhaps even result in a payment to a large building. The compactor's volume could be reduced by 80 percent, and the building's waste removal charge by a similar amount. In our example, this would amount to an annual savings of almost $250,000. Certainly a sum worthy of investigation.

In practice, however, recycling can be rather complicated. Separation systems, storage requirements, and consolidation techniques can make the realization of savings a complex matter. There are numerous buildings that have launched recycling systems only to see them either fall apart or not achieve their intended financial result. Careful planning is the key to ensuring that recycling works.

The first and most necessary step in exploring these issues is a waste audit. A waste audit involves measuring a property's waste stream. Measurements over a period of a week or so can be used to determine the overall volume of materials generated on a day to day basis, and the composition of that material. This information can then be used to assess the validity of various recycling programs. For example, if the audit uncovers a very high percentage of cardboard in the waste stream, it may be cost effective to install and run a baler for this material. The audit is the first step in understanding the implications of recycling at a property.

The cost/benefits of installing recycling programs can then be assessed from this information. If a particular waste stream item is in high enough volume to justify recycling, then the cost of separating that item needs to be determined. What kind of containers should be placed, and in what locations, who will empty those containers, and where will the materials be stored? How will staff/tenants be trained to separate the recyclables? And is there a suitable market available for the materials being separated? The total costs associated with the implementation of a particular program can then be analyzed against a projected payback from a reduction in haulage fees, or from a revenue from the sale of materials.

Also important to understand is the impact that recycling will have on building staff. Will cleaners look for additional charge if there are more containers? Are there staffing issues associated with storage or processing of materials? Before any changes in building operation are made, these costs must be carefully ascertained, and included in the assessment and recommendation for a particular type of program.

Recycling in hotels and department stores is dramatically different from recycling in office towers. While paper grades are most abundant in office towers, glass, metal and plastic containers are often one of the highest volume items in food service industries. The techniques to separate these items varies dramatically from location to location. Markets for these items can also be tricky - most recyclers require reasonable volumes of these materials before they will pick them up for a reasonable cost.

Overall, for large properties, recycling has been an enormous success in New York City Vast quantities of materials are being separated from the waste stream daily, and owners have seen large reductions in their operating expenses as a result. But most importantly, these materials are being used again to make new products: new paper, new glass, new plastic containers. In doing so, we are avoiding having to mine or harvest our dwindling natural resources. We are stepping more gently on the planet. This is the best reason to recycle of all.

COPYRIGHT 1995 Hagedorn Publication
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