Slides - Sustainability at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Sustainable Campus Initiative
How Do I Get Rid of This?
July 14, 2010
by
Susan Michaud
ORNL Pollution Prevention
Coordinator
[email protected]
Managed by UT-Battelle
for the Department of Energy
How Do I Get Rid of THIS?
• Purpose of this presentation is:
• Introduce the new and improved How Do I Get
Rid of This Waste website.
– Updated information for ORNL
– Provided information for disposing of things at home
Generate some thoughtful awareness and dialog
about waste generation
• Purpose of this presentation is not:
– To play stump the presenter. You will not be awarded
points for getting me to say “I don’t know.”
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How Do I Get Rid of This Waste?
• Link from the Laboratory Waste Services
homepage
https://portal.ornl.gov/sites/eshq/epws/lws/d
efault.aspx
• Link from the Sustainable Campus
homepage http://sustainabilityornl.org/default.aspx
• Work vs. Home – the hazard may be the
same, but the rules are different.
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Most Disposal Services Are Provided by
Counties
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Many disposal and recycling services are provided by your county.
Anderson County http://www.cortn.org/PW-html/SolidWaste.htm (scroll down)
Blount County http://www.cityofalcoa-tn.gov/content/view/full/654; or
http://www.maryvillegov.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?se
ctiondetailid=703& (then click on the link Maryville A to Z and then Maryville
Community Guide A to Z)
Knoxville City http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/solidwaste/
Knox County http://www.knoxcounty.org/solid_waste/index.php
Loudon County http://www.loudoncountytn.gov/government/ConvenienceCenters.php
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http://www.loudoncounty.com/lccc/
Oak Ridge City http://www.cortn.org/PW-html/SolidWaste.htm
Roane County http://www.roanegov.org/id19.html
The State of Tennessee has a homepage for guidance on handling household
waste, and posts the schedules for collection events.
http://www.tn.gov/environment/swm/hhw/
The link for the state has contact information for each county
http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/swm/tires/tiresites.shtml
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County Convenience Centers
• Most County Convenience Centers take
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Paper
Newspaper
Cardboard $$$
Plastic
Aluminum/Steel Cans $$$
Batteries
Electronics Equipment
Tires
Appliances
Paint
Yard Waste
Oil & anti-freeze
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Aerosol Cans
• Aerosol cans are dangers because they are
under pressure, and sometimes for the
propellant. Try to find products that are not
under pressure. Use all of the product.
Store the container until your county has a
hazardous household collection event.
http://www.tn.gov/environment/swm/hhw/
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Air Conditioners and Large Appliances
• Air Conditioners and large appliances –
Most counties have one collection site for air
conditioners and large appliances. There is
typically no charge for private citizens’
appliances.
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Asbestos
• Asbestos Waste – If the asbestos is friable
(from Latin friabilis, or friare “to crumble.”),
you need to contact a professional and have
it disposed appropriately.
• If the asbestos is not friable, double bag it,
and take it to the sanitary collection area.
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Batteries
• All batteries can be recycled (alkaline
batteries can be disposed)
• Be aware of things that have batteries in
them
• Toys, novelties
• Portable tools
• Cordless appliances
• Repair the appliance, recycle the batteries
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Clothes
• Be kind to your clothes – 15,000 fires/year
• Repair (or have repaired) minor damage
Dry cleaners can replace buttons,
zippers, hems, etc.
• Expensive clothes can be rewoven
– Art Thrift Reweavers (423) 744-7300 Athens, TN
• Donate to numerous charities.
• Consider shopping at consignment stores
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Carpet
• Recycled content is becoming available
• Disposal in landfills or convenience centers
• Market is slowly developing
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Christmas Lights
• Ship your old lights to HolidayLEDs.com,
Attention: Recycling Program, 120 W.
Michigan Avenue, Suite 1403, Jackson MI
49201. The company will send you a coupon
for 15 percent off its LED lights, which use 80
percent less energy and last 10 years or
more. And they're safer, too. LEDs don't
generate much heat, whereas incandescent
bulbs give off heat, which can cause a dry
Christmas tree to catch fire.
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Crocs and Nikes
• Crocs (shoes) The manufacturer recycles
used Crocs into new shoes and donates
them to underprivileged families. Mail them
to: Crocs Recycling West, 3375 Enterprise
Ave., Bloomington CA 92316.
• Tennis Shoes: You can drop them off at the
Nike Factory Store 1645 Parkway. Suit 1250
Sevierville, TN 37862 (865)774- 743, the Nike
Clearance Store 2606 Teaster Lane, Pigeon
Forge, TN 37863 (865) 453-7907
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Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
• CFL’s are wonderful substitutes for
incandescent bulbs, but they do contain
mercury.
• When your bulb no longer works, you can
take it to your county’s house hold collection
event:
http://www.tn.gov/environment/swm/hhw/.
• Home Depot will also accept spent bulbs
http://www.homedepot.com
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Dead Animals
• Large – Highway Department
• Medium – Health Department
• Pets - Veterinarian
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• Foam Peanuts or air bags – take clean,
dry peanuts to any mail store for reuse
• Furniture – consider recovering it. If you
still don’t want it, donate it to charity.
Furniture that cannot be used can be
disposed at convenience centers.
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Hearing Aids
• Hearing Aids. The Starkey Hearing
Foundation recycles used hearing aids, any
make or model, no matter how old. Lions
Clubs also accept hearing aids (as well as
eyeglasses) for reuse. Log on to
http://donateglasses.org/hearingaids.html to
find designated collection centers near you.
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Household Hazardous Waste
• The state of Tennessee has a collection system for household
hazardous waste http://www.tn.gov/environment/swm/hhw/ .
Each county usually has one day a year to accept household
hazardous waste. The link has a list of acceptable items and
collection dates. Because this is state-sponsored, you may
take your waste to any county’s collection event.
Permanent collection sites are open.
• Knoxville http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/solidwaste/hazwaste.asp
• or Chattanooga
http://www.chattanooga.gov/Public_Works/70_HouseholdHazar
dousWaste.htm
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Ink Jet and Toner Cartridges
• Can refilled at most Walgreen’s and at
Cartridge World
http://www.cartridgeworld.com. For
popular/current cartridges, Cartridge World
will exchange your empty for a refilled
cartridge. If it is something new or
uncommon, they will refill your cartridge.
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Juice Bags
• Most are a combination of a plastic polymer and
aluminum, these are not recyclable. But TerraCycle
will donate 2 cents for each Honest Kids, Capri Sun
and Kool-Aid Drink pouch, and 1 cent for any other
brand you collect, and send in to the charity of your
choice. The organization provides free shipping, too.
What does TerraCycle do with all those pouches?
Turns them into colorful purses, totes and pencil
cases that are sold at Target and Walgreens stores
throughout the country. To get started, go to
www.terracycle.net/brigades.
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Junk Mail
• More than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail arrive in American
mail boxes each year – that’s the equivalent of deforesting the entire
Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
• Each year, 5.8 million tons of catalogs and other direct mailings
ended up in the solid waste stream – enough to fill over 450,000
garbage trucks. About 35% was recycled.
• The production and disposal of direct mail consumes more energy
than 3 million cars.
• Citizens and local governments spend hundreds of millions of
dollars per year to collect and dispose of all the bulk mail that
doesn’t get recycled.
• U.S. companies sent 35 billion pieces of direct postal mail in 1980,
64 billion pieces in 1990, 90 billion pieces in 2000, and 100 billion
pieces in 2005. That’s more than 300 pieces of bulk mail for every
man, woman, and child! (U.S. Postal Service)
• One study says Americans throw away 44% of bulk mail unopened,
yet still spend 8 months per lifetime opening bulk mail. (Consumer
Research Institute)
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Junk Mail – Declare Your Independence
• Don't Let Marketers Sell or Give you Name to others
Any time you order a product by mail, enter a contest,
subscribe to a magazine, send in a warranty card, or
otherwise give your name and address to a company or
organization, write "Please do not rent or sell my name"
• Credit Card Offers?
The main consumer credit reporting agencies,
TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, maintain mailing lists
that are often used by credit card and insurance
companies to send out Junk mail. The good news is that
you can call a single number to get your name and
address removed from the mailing lists circulated by all
three agencies (as well as that of a fourth company,
Innovis). Just call: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)
• Use the 1-800 number on the catalogs.
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Medical Waste
• Hospitals and doctors’ offices have special
containers and waste management contracts for
handling sharps, body fluids and other medical
waste. It is incinerated. If you generate medical
waste at home, put the items in a heavy duty plastic
container such as a liquid laundry detergent
container, that has a secure lid and put it in your
garbage. DO NOT put the items in a recyclable
container. People frequently perform the sorting of
recyclables, and including medical waste with
recyclable materials puts them at a significant safety
risk.
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Prescription Drugs
• The goal of the collection is to prevent these pharmaceutical
and over the counter products from getting into the water
supply - or into the hands of children - and to make sure they
are disposed of in a safe, environmentally-friendly manner.
• Events take place around Knoxville four to five times a year.
The next one is August 24th at St. Mary’s North on Emory Road
• Other than the events, old or unused prescriptions and over
the counter drugs may be brought to the Knoxville Police
Department's Safety Building, located at 800 Howard Baker Jr.
Avenue, for disposal at anytime, twenty fours a day seven days
a week. The KPD maintains a secure collection container there
on a permanent basis just inside the lobby.
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Wheelchairs
• Go to www.lifenets.org/wheelchair, which
acts as a matchmaker, uniting wheelchairs
with those who need them.
• Remote Area Medical Foundation
1834 Beech Street
Knoxville, TN 37920
1-877-5RAMUSA
865-579-1530
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Do I Really Need This Stuff?
• Does it pass the Grandmother test?
• The Story of Stuff
• http://storyofstuff.org/
• The Story of Water Bottles
• http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/
• Concepts of “Manufactured Demand” and
“Planned Obsolescence”
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