NYC Agency Safe Handling Program for Universal...

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NYC Agency Safe Handling Programfor Universal & Electronic Waste

Dave HirschlerDirector, Waste Prevention UnitNYC Department of Sanitation


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Consent Agreement

In August, 2009, NYC entered into a consent agreementwith the EPA over improper disposal of lighting andelectronic waste.Consent agreement included:• Penalty payments.• Environmental audit of every mayoral agency to ensure

compliance of lighting and electronic waste regulations.• Agreement to withhold further inspections until completion of

agreement• Annual written directives to non-City lessees or lessors of the

City for 3 years.• Requirement to hire a consultant• Quarterly status reports to EPA, followed by a final report• Additional consequences if the City found non-compliant


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The NYC Department of Sanitation’s Bureau of WastePrevention, Reuse and Recycling (DSNY) was selected tomanage this program.

Agency Safe Handling of Universal & Electronic Waste

logo:

web: www.nyc.gov/wasteless/agencysafehandlingintranet: http://cityshare.nycnet/ashtrainingintranet: http://cityshare.nycnet/ashcontracthotline e-mail: [email protected] phone: 212-437-4645

Lead Agency


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Related Laws & Regulations

• NY State & Federal Hazardous Waste Regulationso Overarching regulations covering all hazardous materials.

• NY State & Federal Universal Waste Regulationso Covering Lamps, Batteries, and Mercury Devices

• Federal CRT Ruleo Non-flat panel monitors and televisions

• State C7 Scrap Metal exemptiono Electronic equipment

• NY Public Employee Safety & Health regulationso Workplace safety (similar to OSHA for public entities)

• NYC & NY State Rechargeable Battery Recycling Laws• NY State Mercury-containing Equipment Law

o Covering mercury devices & fluorescent lamps• NYC & NY State Electronic Equipment Recycling Laws


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Costs of the program (Agencies)

Each Agency is responsible for the cost ofmanaging and safely disposing of theirmaterials:

• No new regulations to require increasedfunding

• Some agencies had not previously budgetedany costs associated with the disposal ofthese items.


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Program Components (1)

1. Contract: A new citywide contract would need to bedeveloped to ensure agencies are safely and legallymanaging their materials.

2. Relinquishment: The relinquishment process for electronicdevices would have to be amended to reduce the hurdlesassociated with proper disposal of electronic equipment.

3. Safety Training: Staff handling waste materials coveredunder the consent agreement would need to be trained on thesafe handling of these items

4. Hazardous Waste Determinations: Regulations require thatgenerators indicate how they will manage their waste prior todisposal. It was recommended that this be done at an agencylevel.

5. Contract Usage Training: Due to the complexity of the newcitywide contract, training would be needed for Agencies tounderstand how to register and utilize the new citywidecontract


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Program Components (2)

6. Outside Directives: Agencies were required to notify lesseesand lessors of the requirements to abide by lighting andelectronic waste regulations.

7. Audit Protocols: A system would have to be set up in orderto complete the required EPA audits.

8. Audit Training: Inspectors were required to be trained onsafe handling and facility inspection procedures.

9. Inspections: A system would be needed to manage and trackagency inspections.

10. Reporting: EPA would need to be kept informed throughoutthe process.


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Preliminary Activities

DSNY was required to determine:

1. Which Agencies are Covered by the Order

2. The Number & Types of Facilities to be Audited

3. The Scope of the Facility Audits

4. Estimating Contract Value


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• EPA Consent Agreement specifies “Mayoral Agencies” ascovered

• Mayoral Agency is not a well-defined term in the NYCbureaucracy.

• Citywide Office of Safety & Health maintains a list of 39 MayoralAgencies. Ultimately this list was operationalized.

• Future issues arose with:• Merging and newly formed mayoral agencies• Limitations on the use of the city-wide contract

Identifying Covered Agencies


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• City Owned Lots plus leased facilities• There were many mixed ownership facilities where it’s unclear which

agencies are housed within• Facility types are hard to determine• What about non lots facilities (i.e. bridge houses)• Defining what constitutes a facility was complicated -

Would each park bathroom and each street light be considered afacility?

What about multiple uses in one building or multiple buildings onone lot

Determining the Number & Types ofFacilities to be Audited (1)


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After analyzing the City-wide facility data, each agency was requested toreview and update their facility information online including providingadditional information on their sites.

Throughout the process and well beyond, facility information had to beadjusted due to moves, updated information, and further clarificationsbased on actual management of properties.

Facilities also had to be categorized into types to assist in determining eachAgency’s contract needs and the development of city-wide audit protocols.

Approximately 2,321 facilities were considered “auditable”

Determining the Number & Types of Facilitiesto be Audited (2)


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EPA Consent Agreement specifically covered mercury containinglight bulbs and computer monitors.

In order to create a cohesive program and to avoid future violationsother related materials were included in training, correspondence,and the citywide contract:

• All electronic equipment• Hazardous batteries• Mercury-containing devices• Ballasts• Syringes

The Scope of the FacilityAudits


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In order to understand the size of the program as well as forcontract estimates, DSNY reviewed:

• energy efficiency audits• OSHA & DSNY lighting standards• Types and size of city facilities• Various reports and studies

DSNY estimated the quantity of material that may bedisposed of in a given year to be:

• 6 million light bulbs• 200,000 desktop computers

Estimating Contract Value


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Agency ContactsIn order to ensure that Agencies always had one individualwho was knowledgeable about all aspects of the program,each Agency was required to designate a ‘Top Contact’.

This person would coordinate all programmatic activities fortheir Agency including:

Utilizing the new Citywide Contract Hazardous Waste Determination Safety Training Facility Audits

Identifying the right top contact was sometimes difficult andneeded to be changed at times.


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Directive to Outside Entities

Which Entities were Required to Receive this Directive?

• Landlords or management companies for any private buildingwith agency tenants

• Tenants of city-owned properties• Contractors (i.e. non-profits or consultants) utilizing city-owned

properties on behalf of the City• Vendors utilizing City-owned facilities (i.e. parks

concessions/newsstands)

EPA was required to approve the content of the outside directive,and therefore a template was developed. Agencies were asked toadjust but not make substantial changes to the template.

2,601 directives were distributed in the first year of theProgram


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Directive to Outside Entities

Lease Language:

• EPA did exempt from receiving this directive any non-Cityentities where the terms of the lease explicitly addressthe responsibility for properly managing lighting and/orelectronics.

• The Law Department is looking at lease language to seethat future agreements contain appropriate amendments.


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Hazardous WasteDeterminations

According to section 372.2 of the Environmental Conservation Law(similar language in federal RCRA regulations):

Hazardous waste determination. A person who generates a solidwaste must determine if that waste is a hazardous waste

While this determination could happen on a case by case basis, itis not feasible for a determination be made by facility staff eachtime material is discarded or broken.

Agencies were requested to make this determination at an Agency-wide level based on a template provided by DSNY and approvedby the EPA.


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The Following Determinations Were Made:• Electronic Waste – Scrap Metal• Hazardous Lamps – Universal Waste• Broken Lamps – Hazardous Waste• Non-alkaline and Automobile Batteries – Universal Waste• Mercury-containing Equipment – Universal Waste

Determination memos included the following clarifications:• Most facilities were conditionally exempt small quantity

generators of hazardous waste and small quantity handlers ofuniversal waste (some exceptions).

• No agency would transport over 500 lbs. of universal waste atone time without appropriate permits.


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Issues:

• Which materials had to be Covered in the Determination?• Green tipped lamps?• Which types of electronics?.

• Concern over any Departmental memo using the term‘hazardous waste’ (major issue for the Department ofEducation).

• Who was required to receive each Agency’s determination?


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Safety Training

Regulations require some level of training for those handling,or supervising staff who handle universal waste.

These staff include:• Facilities Staff• IT Staff• Electricians• Firefighters/Police Officers/Sanitation Workers

# of staff requiring safety training estimated to be in thethousands.


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Safety Training

DSNY developed and managed threesimilar but slightly different online trainingcourses by staff type-

• Facility Staff Training• Facility Managers Training• IT Staff Training

A DVD version of each course was alsodeveloped to address staff with limitedcomputer capabilities.

All training was reviewed by NYCCollege of Technology & the EPA


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Safety Training

All Online Safety Training Courses include:

• A Quiz to ensure understanding• Online tracking of attendees• Certificate of Completion from NYC College of

Technology

~4,5000 registrants participated in the safetytraining

*DOE did not participate in this training program,opting to handle in-house.


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Pre-Agency Safe HandlingRelinquishment Procedure

• Electronic waste was considered surplus goods andtherefore submitted for relinquishment.

• The City-wide asset recovery contract for e-waste did nothave disposal requirements and was limited to certainmaterials in large quantities.

• After a difficult relinquishment process, Agencies wereoften provided with a destroy order and had to discard ofe-waste on their own.


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Citywide Agency SafeHandling Contract

• DSNY released a bid for a citywidecontract to be accessible by all MayoralAgencies.

• This contract would span 10-years with 25-year renewal options.

• The contract was unique, a “Parent/Child”contract where DSNY managed thecontract, but each agency or unit within anagency registered their own version.


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Covered the following materials:


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Includes a variety of service options:

Removal Service Mailback Service

Hard Drive Sanitization Safety Equipment


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• Agencies are not required to scope out their specific servicesprior to usage, all Agencies have access to all services incontract.

• Unlike other solid waste contracts, cost per container as opposedto cost per ton (eliminated need for weight audits).

• Disposal records are reviewed by DSNY, “Service” to agenciescomplete upon removal.

• Partial service costs paid upfront, remainder upon completion.

• Vendor was required to design an Online Ordering System forAgencies to request services (similar to the city’s Staplescontract)

• Agencies can grant individuals access to the contract plus limittheir spending directly through the online ordering system.


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In order to assist agencies, DSNY developed anonline contract usage training course.

Over 500 City staff enrolled in this class


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In order to assist agencies, Veolia developed online orderingsystem tutorial:


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Registration Issues:

• Small agencies are often not used to registering long termcontracts.

• Agencies do not understand that the annual contractrequisitions and contract value are different.

• Agencies do not understand that they can register AAO for fullinitial term.

• Very difficult to estimate contract usage over 10 years.• Agencies often do not notify DSNY when there are any issues.• Contract was only made available to Mayoral Agencies – other

agencies have requested to register.

53 registered AAOs by 37 Agencies


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Legacy Pickups:

Contractor and DSNYstaff worked withAgencies to assist themremove stockpiledmaterial.


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Representative Sample (1)

One of the Preliminary activities for this Program was toDetermine the Number & Types of Facilities to be Audited

Based on these determinations, Agencies were categorizedinto Large, Medium, Small and Very Small Agencies

Each Agency was given their total list of auditable facilitiesand then given the number of sites to be inspected

Audit Protocols


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Audit ProtocolsRepresentative Sample (2)

The Mayoral Agencies were categorized by size as follows:Large Agencies

500 or more facilities (inspected 10% or 75 facilities)Department of Education

Medium Agencies100 or more facilities (inspected 15% or 25 facilities)NYPD & FDNY

Small AgenciesLess than 100 facilities (inspected 25% or 5 facilities)12 Agencies (DSNY/Parks/Health…)

Very Small AgenciesLess than 5 facilities (1 facility to inspect)20 Agencies (DDC/Culture/OEM…)

Agencies that solely managed electronics in facilities where another Agencymanages their lighting were not required to perform their own audits

Three Agencies (LPC/Planning/OPA)


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Audit ProtocolsRepresentative Sample (3)

Agencies were asked to select a representative sample oftheir facilities with the following criteria when applicable:

• At least one large and one small facility• Facilities encompassing various Agency operations• Facilities managed by different personnel or Agency

units• Facilities located across the City• A consolidation site (where material is being stored for

removal) was included

• Facilities where another Agency manages their lightingwere excluded

359 Facilities Were Selected


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Audit Protocols

EPA required the City to develop audit protocols to conductmulti-facility inspections:. These audit protocols had toflexible to accommodate -

• all 39 Mayoral Agencies• varying facility types• various management types (private/mixed/multi-agency)

In addition, the protocols needed to be –

• Easily understandable to the Agency inspectors• Meet EPA’s approval• Create Standards that Agencies could reasonably

achieve


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Audit Protocols

1. Inspections to be handled by each Agency, with DSNY and itsconsultants attending a significant proportion.

2. Agencies not using citywide contract were required to havetheir contracts reviewed by DSNY.

3. Agencies were able to perform an “entrance interview” prior toofficial inspection.

4. Agencies managing lighting for another agency would beresponsible to inspect their “tenant” agencies.

5. All questions were to be asked at each inspection even whenthe question is not specific to said facility (i.e. contract disposalquestions).

6. DSNY would be responsible to review all completed inspectionchecklists and provide notices of compliance or non-compliance.

7. Facilities may be re-inspected twice (within 21 days ofprevious inspection) prior to final non-compliance.


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Audit Checklist


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Inspector Selection (1)

Each Agency is responsible to inspect their facilities,therefore they were required to select their inspectors.

Guidelines for selected were drafted by DSNY and included:

1. Ability to identify and report areas of non-compliance.

2. Ability to identify existing and predictable hazards.3. Authorized to initiate prompt corrective actions.4. Access to records.5. Necessary authority and security clearance to enter

waste storage areas.


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Inspector Selection (2)

EPA Consent Order required that all inspectors be trained:

Inspectors were required to take online facility managerssafety training as well as attend an instructor-led class thatcovered:

1. Review of Safety Training2. Inspection Process3. Audit Checklist Review4. Inspection Follow-up

15 Training sessions were held (10 initial sessions; 5additional sessions added later)280 Inspectors and other stake holders attended one ofthe instructor-led classes


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Inspection Process

DSNY facilitated the inspection process as follows:

1. Agency submits an online form notifying DSNY of inspectiondate.

2. DSNY verifies facility and assigns DSNY or consultant staff toattend selected inspection.

3. DSNY provides pre-filled official checklist to inspector.4. Agency returns checklist via fax to DSNY.5. Checklist entered into automated inspection tracking system

and results reviewed by DSNY and consultants.6. Each completed checklist was ‘graded’ independently by two

‘sets of eyes’ before notifying the Agency of the audit outcome.7. DSNY provides notice to Agency of compliance status with

recommended corrective action if appropriate.


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Inspections

During each facility audit the inspector reviews:1. Paperwork2. Lighting storage areas3. IT storage areas4. Waste storage areas


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Inspections

In the event of non-compliance:

• Agency must fully re-inspect within 21 days (unlessthird instance of non-compliance).

• Prior to any re-inspection, Agency must provide DSNY awritten explanation indicating what corrective action(s)were taken in response to the violations cited, and whatmeasures have been undertaken to prevent this issue inthe future.

• After third instance of non-compliance, facility is fullynon-compliant. In addition a severity level is associatedwith the non-compliant status. Agencies may be required by the EPA to inspect

larger percentage of facilities based on the numberand severity of final non-compliance.


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General Challenges (1)

Complex Regulations

• Regulations surrounding hazardous waste are written forindustrial facilities, often difficult to apply to non-industrialfacilities.

• Some regulatory terms, such as “hazardous” can causeunnecessary health and safety concerns to staff and thegeneral public.

• Agencies that generally have no experience withenvironmental health and safety regulations or solidwaste issues are often confused about requirements.


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General Challenges (2)

Maintaining Priority & Taking Responsibility

Unlike other initiatives, this program did have the weight ofan EPA consent order behind it; however:

• A great deal of time was spent continually contactingAgencies to ensure they are meeting required stepswithin required timeframes.

• The Mayor’s Office was asked to step in on variousoccasions to ensure Agency responsiveness.

• Due to complexity of the issue, some Agencies haddifficulty assigning responsibility for tasks to theappropriate unit/staff within their Agency.


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Disposal

As of the end of 2013 the total materialcollected under this contract is as follows:

Waste Material Quantity Unit of Measure

Fluorescent Lamps 302,743 LampsElectronics 2,952,875 PoundsBatteries 43,757 PoundsBallasts 24,141 PoundsMercury-ContainingDevices

866 Pounds

In addition, the Department of Education thru its own contractsrecycled 105,556 pieces of ewaste (incl. TVs) and

711,600 pounds of spent lighting


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Dave Hirschler212.437.4675

[email protected]

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