| The average person in Wisconsin generates 4.7 pounds of trash each day. That may not seem too astounding. After all, it's less than a small bag of potatoes. But multiply that by the more than 5.6 million people living in our fine state, and we've collectively generated 26.32 million pounds of trash just today! In one year, we'll have enough garbage to fill a city street over four feet deep with trash from curb to curb for 575 miles, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Where does all the garbage go?
Fortunately for Wisconsinites, much of that trash won’t end up in the street or in our landfills for that matter. In 1989, legislation was passed that mandated recycling of certain products. The recycling programs are underwritten by a surcharge tax placed on businesses with $4 million in annual gross receipts. While that surcharge was scheduled to sunset, the state Legislature chose to continue it. Because of the state's efforts, more than 90 percent of residents in the state actively participate in recycling programs, diverting more than 40 percent of our waste materials from landfills.
Winnebago, Outagamie and Brown counties created a partnership in 2002 to collectively manage their recycling and waste programs. Currently, paper recycling from the three counties is directed to Outagamie County and container/commingled recyclables are sent to Brown County. When the material is sold, profits are divided among the three counties. Last year, Winnebago County earned a net profit of $289,000 from the sale of recyclables.
"We are making more money selling recycled goods than it costs to process them," said Jennifer Semrau, Winnebago County recycling specialist. "The markets are great right now."
Since the first recycling law was passed in Wisconsin, we have grown accustom to checking that little number on the bottom of plastic bottles and bundling newspapers before setting them on the curb. But once they leave the house, we probably don’t give much thought to where they go next. The fact is, those same products may be resurfacing all over your home in the form of carpeting, insulation, furniture, paper towel, napkins, decking material and, of course, more newspaper.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
New businesses are forming and new products, which rely on recycled goods, are being developed. To these businesses, recycled materials are as good as gold. The new developments in the recycling industry offer a wealth of potential new jobs. The DNR estimates that for every 10,000 tons of material recycled or reused in a year, dozens of jobs can be created.
A 1998 study estimated that there were 30,000 recycling-related businesses in Wisconsin. These businesses generated $6 billion in sales and more than $1 billion in wages.
So who are these recycling magnates? They are in our city, our county and throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
In 1947 E.H Rudoy purchased the Block Salvage Company, a small scrap yard in Oshkosh, which has since become Block Iron & Supply Company, a division of Sadoff & Rudoy Industries (SRI). Rudoy's three grandsons, Mark, Jason and Brad Lasky, along with their father, Sheldon, now run the company, which buys and sells ferrous (metals containing iron) and non-ferrous metals. SRI, which is headquartered in Fond du Lac, has seven locations employing 280 people.
SRI's customers include non-ferrous smelters and steel mills. But foundries constitute 70 percent to 75 percent of its business.
"Foundries have specific chemistry and size specifications for their furnaces," explained Block Iron President Mark Lasky. "It's a very specific business, but we've made it our niche. We have been the sole supplier to Neenah Foundry for more than 50 years, and the business is always done on a handshake."
SRI takes great pride in the quality of the product it delivers to customers.
"We get graded on every load of scrap we sell to customers," Lasky added. "If we're not providing quality loads, we won't be a supplier for long."
SRI purchases metal from industrial accounts,such as Oshkosh Truck and Pierce Manufacturing, dealers and peddlers. The metal is separated, chopped or shredded, and bundled. SRI recently invested $1.5 million in an eddy current system, which separates ferrous from non-ferrous metals according to customer specifications.
"As steel prices go up, the demand for better processed steel increases," said Brad Lasky, SRI owner/partner. "We have to find better ways to separate metals in order to provide the best quality possible for our customers."
This commitment to excellence has led to customer loyalty and business growth. In the past five years, SRI has experienced double digit growth.
One of Block Iron's suppliers, Vulcan Quarry, is another local business that has developed a recycling market. Vulcan is the largest producer of aggregate in the nation. Vulcan's quarry in Oshkosh blasts about 20,000 tons of limestone a week. The rock is crushed and processed to make clear stone and base stone for concrete.
While the quarry has been operating since 1870, approximately 80 percent of the stone in the quarry has been mined out since the 1960s. So, when the quarry industry introduced a new source of aggregate to the market, Vulcan took advantage of it.
In 1997, Vulcan started a concrete rubble program where it stockpiles and crushes rubble stored at the quarry. While concrete rubble cannot be converted back to concrete, it can be used as a base for roads, concrete and asphalt. When the concrete is crushed, a magnet pulls out the iron and rebar, which is sold to scrap metal companies. The rubble can then be sold to general contractors like Zillges Materials and Radtke Contractors.
"We can sell rubble at a discount from the limestone because we don't have the blasting cost," said Steve Smith, Vulcan's plant manager, Midwest division. "In two to six years, we'll crush the material and have about a two-year supply of aggregate that will go back out into the market."
Another recyclable material making its way into construction applications, as well as every aspect of our lives, is plastic. The potential uses for plastic are virtually limitless. N.E.W. Plastics in Luxemburg, Wis., has been manufacturing plastic lumber and sheeting for decking, outdoor furniture, boat docks and other products since the early 1970s. The company makes its products from recycled #2 plastics, like milk jugs.
Nearly 40 years after the company was founded, N.E.W. Plastics has the capacity to convert 25 million pounds of recycled plastic a year into its products. And its plastic lumber, which contains up to 96 percent plastic, can be recycled again in the future.
But finding quality plastic is a continuous challenge, said vice president Lonnie Vincent in the Wisconsin DNR's publication, Wisconsin Recycling Means Business. Leaving caps on plastic bottles can lead to contamination and compromise the quality of raw materials.
Local contractor Dan Metzig, owner of Archadeck in Oshkosh, has used similiar products in his business. Metzig uses a composite material for decking which is made up of roughly half recycled plastic and half wood fiber, which is reclaimed wood product that is ground up. these new decking options are gaining in popularity. About half of Metzig's jobs are now done with composite materials, many of them replacing wood decks.
"People are looking for maintenance free," Metzig said. "The benefit (of the product) are that you don't get splitting, cupping and splintering boards. The new products are low maintenance and are expected to last 25 years."
While the composite decking may cost 30 percent to 50 percent more up front, Metzig believes it pays for itself within five years.
Other local companies are also using recycled plastic in their manufacturing operations. Lakeside Plastics, which develops plastisol formulations and manufacturers traffic cones and barrels, integrates post-industrial, pre-consumer plastics into select applications.
"Any time you can divert material that would go to the landfill and make a useful product out of it, it's an advantage for everyone," said Lakeside Project Engineer Jeff Seibold.
While new markets are exploding for #1 and #2 plastics, the demand for higher number plastics has not evolved as rapidly. Every year, more than 300 million plastic printer cartridges, which are made with #7 plastics, are dumped into landfills in the United States and around the world, according to an article in Recharger Magazine. The article goes on to state that it can take up to 100 years for these products to biodegrade in a landfill.
Cartridge World, a franchise that remanufacturers ink and toner printer cartridges, is doing its part to keep these products from entering the landfill. Local Franchise Owner Ron Hasselbacher estimates that the Oshkosh store will fill more than 15,000 cartridges this year alone. Not only is this good for the environment, it's great for business. Customers can refill existing cartridges for nearly half the cost of purchasing new ones. And the quality is guaranteed.
"Remanufacturing and refilling saves on oil usage up front and puts less product in our landfills," Hasselbacher said.
The DNR estimates that recycling one ton of plastic saves the equivalent of 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of gasoline.
"Everything we do to save gas reduces our dependence on foreign oil," said Dave Misterek, DNR waste management specialist.
Likewise, recycling one ton of newspaper saves the equivalent of 100 gallons of gasoline.
"The Fox River Valley has the largest concentration of paper mills in the world," Misterek added. "It's important from a paper manufacturing standpoint and from a paper recycling standpoint. We recycle more paper in this area than other parts of the nation."
In 2005, Georgia-Pacific used more than 3.4 million tons of recycled paper to make many of its products, including paper towels, printing and writing paper, cardboard and building materials.
At GP's Oshkosh plant, which manufactures corrugated cardboard containers, paper waste is generated during the manufacturing process and recycled.
"In the process of making a box, we have normal waste," said Oshkosh's Operations Manager John Arpin. "We generate about six to eight 1,000-pound bales of waste a day worth about $50 each."
The waste is sold to a paper mill or a GP-certified waste distributor.
What are we leaving for the next generation?
Recycling has become a profitable venture for thousands of local businesses. But more than just making money, there is the satisfaction of knowing that these efforts have prevented valuable resources from entering our landfills. In its tri-county partnership, Winnebago County currently landfills all the waste for three counties. The landfill on the north side of Oshkosh is expected to be filled within five to six years, at which point waste will be transferred to Brown or Outagamie County.
But the landfill will remain in Oshkosh for decades to come. Even after a landfill is inactive, it produces methane gas as the waste decomposes, which must be managed. Usable gas can last up to 20 to 25 years. After that, the gas is flared, which can continue for 10 to 15 more years.
Wisconsin residents are doing their part to keep recyclables out of the landfill. In fact, residents recycle enough every one and a half to two years to save building another landfill, according to DNR statistics. But we can still do more.
Stop throwing money in the trash!
Despite the diligent recycling efforts of businesses and individuals, there is still room for improvement.
"There's money to be made in doing this (recycling)," said Cynthia Moore, recycling team leader for the DNR's Bureau of Waste Management. "There is $113 million in lost revenue each year because people are throwing out recyclable materials."
Landfilling valuable materials forces businesses to tap natural resources. Recycling one ton of aluminum, for example, saves the equivalent of 2,350 gallons of gasoline, which, according to the DNR, is equivalent to the amount of electricity used by the typical Wisconsin home over a 10-year period. Yet, more than 30,000 tons of aluminum cans and other products, valued at $36 million, make their way into landfills each year. And the demand for plastic from new manufacturers is so great, that we can scarcely fill it with what we are currently collecting.
Get the word out.
DNR officials believe the most effective way to increase recycling participation is to educate the public and emphasize the importance of recycling in our community—to make a connection between what we leave at the curb and what is used by businesses. The DNR is increasing recycling efforts at major events, like EAA and the State Fair. But there are challenges.
"Since we bring in people from all over the world and the United States to the event, there are still many people not educated about recycling," said EAA Facilities Manager Steve Taylor. "Many states do not have mandated recycling such as Wisconsin. We need to do a better job promoting prior to the event. There's always going to be some effort put it. But it can be to everyone's advantage."
Not only can businesses make use of recycled products, they can manufacture products with recycling in mind. In 1991, Audi produced a battery cover made entirely from old plastic bumpers, and in 1997, it designed the entire car to be recyclable in some market.
While not every industry can boast that claim yet, individuals and businesses are working to protect the environment and preserve natural resources for generations to come.
SRI, an ISO-certified company, prides itself on its working relationship with the DNR and EPA. It employs a safety director to keep the company abreast of OSHA regulations.
"We are good corporate citizens in every community we're in," Mark Lasky said. "If we don't take this stuff (scrap metal) here, it's laying out in a farmer's field somewhere."
Reprinted with the permission from the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. |
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