Concerned for the environment and about sending less rubbish to landfills, the University of Rhode Island and the R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation are offering a master composter/recycler-training program to residents.
The second edition of the eight-week program is slated to begin next month at the Warwick Public Library.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
The goal is twofold: to reduce the amount of organic materials in landfills, and to increase the state’s recycling rate.
Lisa Sisson, a pre-school teacher from South Kingstown who took part in the first session last October, said she was “astounded” when she learned about the amount of trash each person produces.
South Kingstown is one of a few towns that have charges on a per-drop basis for trash disposal at the town dump, as opposed to traditional curbside pickup. This approach encourages more recycling, which is free, said Sisson.
“Every individual has the potential to make a difference in the environment,” she said.
Mike Mesolella, recycling coordinator of the municipal layer zone at the resource recovery corporation, said people can save money on fertilizers, pesticides and other materials for lawn care if they compost leaves and grass clippings in their back yard.
On the municipal level, the economics of increasing recycling are quite clear: A town pays $32 a ton for trash when it comes to the state landfill, said Mesolella. Fifteen communities have separate pickups for leaves and grass clippings, which are accepted by the landfill at no cost, thus reducing the tax burden for waste disposal on the residents, he said.
“If you eliminate your leaf and yard waste from the trash, you save the town a tremendous amount in tip fees,” said Mesolella.
Marion Gold, director of the URI Cooperative Extension Education Center, said more than 30 percent of what is sent to the state landfill is organic material that can be composted in an individual’s back yard or at a recycling facility.
Locally, the Central Landfill in Johnston provides disposal services to about 96 percent of Rhode Island residents and manages 4,000 tons of trash per day from residential and commercial entities.
Recycling can slash expenses in the business world as well.
Eric Bartholomay, a product development manager at Toray Plastics in North Kingstown, said recycling reduces the cost to produce its polyester and polypropylene films and has helped save the company millions of dollars in the manufacturing process.
The films – most widely used for packaging – are produced in a certified clean room, which allows any waste from the manufacturing process or rolls of film rejected for quality reasons to be reused in the production process.
“[Recycling] makes it economical to produce very high quality films here in Rhode Island paying the electricity rates and taxes [Toray] pays,” he said.
To further cut down on costs, the materials that Toray uses to ship its films are reusable, said Bartholomay.
Neil Seldman, president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit dedicated to economic and environmental concerns with offices in Washington, D.C., and Minnesota, said office buildings can eliminate the cost of their waste management by recycling paper goods, which on average account for about 70 percent of all waste.
The most recent study released by the National Recycling Coalition (in 2001) determined that there are more than 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments in the country. They employ about 1.1 million people, generate a payroll of $37 billion and gross $236 billion in revenue annually.
While the URI/resource corporation program is designed to be useful to average citizens, it also is geared toward municipal recycling coordinators, public works and conservation professionals. The goal is to form a group of experts to teach people about the importance of recycling, said Mesolella.
