A vendors top 10 things to consider when contracting for recycling pick up or processing:
- Include more time during the bidding process and starting a contract. 30-60 days is not enough time for a hauler to prepare to collect in a new town.
- Include multiple options in your bids, i.e. an automated carts versus no carts option.
- Consider leaving recycling processing/marketing costs outside the bid and paying those separately.
- Education of your residents is extremely important. A better product = a better price.
- Make sure your definitions are updated so that you are not asking a contractor to pick up a material that is not currently recyclable.
- Be willing to change your pickup days – being flexible will help attract bidders.
- Include a contamination clause in your specifications so the municipality has responsibility for material quality.
- Understand the current situation – markets are very different than they were years ago.
- A 3-year contract length with 2 one-year extensions is preferable.
- Consider moving to automated pickup.
Articles, Announcements & Letters
- May 2018 – NJDEP Letter to NJ Mayors for Recycling Contamination
- March 2019 – NJDEP Offers free Recycle Coach App to all New Jersey Municipalities
- March 2019 – Recycling in the U.S. Will Survive, Despite the Media Narrative – Neil Seldman & Peter Anderson for Waste Dive
Contracts
- August 2018 – NW&RA and SWANA Reissue Guidance on Municipal Collection Contracts
- April 2019 – Best Practices in Municipal Solid Waste Contracting – Shar Habibi for NERC (Northeast Recycling Council) Webinar
- Sample contract from Westfield, NJ
Agencies & Associations
- US EPA Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Webpage
- NJDEP All Things Recycling Webpage
- NJDEP Recycle Right NJ Recycling Contamination Social Media Campaign Webpage
- Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Guide to a Better Bin
Why Should I be Concerned?
1. Pricing for contracts with processing facilities is partially based on quality.
2. Collecting more material isn’t necessarily better if you are collecting materials that cannot be recycled.
3. Processing facilities may reject loads with excessive quantities of residue or charge a fee to process that load.
4. It is a waste of energy and resources to collect materials in recycling bins that will eventually be sorted out and landfilled or incinerated as residue.
Top Tips to begin a successful PR campaign
1. Speak to your processor to get a list of acceptable/unacceptable recyclable items.
2. Work with your processor to identify the most common unacceptable items being received.
3. Bring all parties together to develop a strategy → educator – hauler – processor.
4. Educate the public
5. Measure your success
Links to IPF/MRFs (For list of acceptable items plus contact information)
Graphics to Borrow:
NJDEP artwork – http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/recycling/promotools.html
WM Recycle Often Recycle Right http://recycleoftenrecycleright.com/resources/
Recycling Partnership (bottom of page) http://tools.recyclingpartnership.org/contamination/
America Recycles Day https://americarecyclesday.org/toolkit/
Samples from: Morris County Atlantic County Utilities Authority Burlington County
Specific material images (Courtesy of Morris County)
Videos
Waste Management http://recycleoftenrecycleright.com/resources/
Plastic Bag Recycling http://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/plasticbag/resources.html
Plastic Bags stuck in MRF screens – Oregon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoBSW75-AqM
MRF Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5nmNKVNCBw&mc_cid=c0e93cc6fb&mc_eid=d9b2ba030e
Recycle Coach http://info.recyclecoach.com/resource-library-homepage
Republic Services Recycling Simplified
Lesson Plans
Waste Management http://recycleoftenrecycleright.com/resources/
Miscellaneous
Waste Management RORR widget (A widget is a small add on for your website) http://recycleoftenrecycleright.com/rorr-widgets/
Recycling Coach app & website plug-in https://recyclecoach.com/
Plastic Film Recycling http://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org https://www.recycleyourplastics.org/