Planning’s Role in Sustainable Waste Management(Session #9109918)

Ning Ai, Nancey Green Leigh, and Elizabeth Balkan May 6, 2017

Session Overview

• APA 2017 PAS Report “Planning for Sustainable Material and Waste Management” by Ning Ai and Nancey Green Leigh

• Interrelated MWM Planning Strategies and Implications for Municipal Finance

• Economic Development from Waste Diversion

• Zero Waste Planning Process and Implementation in NYC

2

Speakers

Nancey Green Leigh, PhD. FAICP

Professor; Associate Dean for Research, College of Design

3

Ning Ai, PhD.

Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago

Elizabeth Balkan

Director of Policy; Senior Advisor to the Commissioner at the NYC Department of Sanitation

Urban Planning’s Missed Opportunities

• Solid waste management is one of the largest items on the municipal budget for many cities, exceeded only by schools and roads (Daniels 2014; World Bank 2012).

• Americans’ Per capita waste generation rate is one of the highest among developed economies worldwide (World Bank 2012: OECD 2017; UNSD 2017).

• Landfills are the 3rd largest anthropogenic source of methane emissions, accounting for 1/5 of the national total (US EPA 2016).

• Waste diversion creates businesses and jobs, but the potential has yet to be realized.

• Local planning tools are available to promote MWM data collection and equitable MWM, as well as operation efficiency.

4

Key Challenges of MWM

• Local efforts vs. Global Impacts • Efficiency vs. Equity • Limited local data vs.

Regional Heterogeneity • Short-term vs.

Long-term impacts

5Ai, Ning. 2011. "Challenges of Sustainable Urban Planning: The Case of Municipal Solid Waste Management." Doctoral Dissertation, Georgia Tech.

Sustainable MWM

PlanningStrategies

• Compliance and progressive zero waste plans• Determine locally specific MWM methods• Plan across environmental media• Connections with other sustainability plans

Environment

• Incorporate MWM considerations in new development reviews• Decouple waste volume from economic and population growth• Integrate material and waste management infrastructure• Plan for MWM infrastructure that integrates green design and environmental

health impacts through life cycle stages of MWM

Infrastructure

• Budget planning for MWM services • Account for full costs when pricing for waste services• Dedicate MWM revenue to support recycling programs• Balance environmental and economic goals

Finance

• Job creation through reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing (R3) activities• R3 industry development • Planning and policy tools for economic development from waste diversion• R3 requirements for business and consumers

Economy

• Controversy surrounding waste facility siting• Market drivers and confounding factors that challenge equity goals• Stakeholder involvement, zoning ordinance, and assistance programs towards

equity goals

Equity

• Data barriers to efficient and effective MWM• Plan for community-specific MWM using smart MWM technology• Employ planning tools that facilitate MWM data collection

Technology 6Ai and Leigh (2017)

General Flows of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

7Ai, Ning. 2011. "Challenges of Sustainable Urban Planning: The Case of Municipal Solid Waste Management." Doctoral Dissertation, Georgia Tech.

Environmental Impacts of MSW to be Managed

8

Note: CH4 = methane; CO = carbon monoxide; CO2 = carbon dioxide; HCl = hydrochloric acid; HF = hydrofluoric acid; NOx = nitrogen oxides; N2O = nitrous oxide; PAHs = polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; VOCs = volatile organic compounds; SO2 = Sulphur dioxide; PM = particulate matter. Source: Ai and Leigh (2017). Adapted from Giusti 2009; Tabasová et al. 2012; U.S. EPA 2016; Stuart 2006.

Selected Cities/ Counties w 40% + Recycling Rate

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Ai and Leigh (2017) based on sources of Clarke 2014, Mecklenburg County Land Use & Environmental Services Agency 2011, unless otherwise noted* Indicates the disposal fee of the state average (Green Power Inc 2014)

Balancing Environmental and Economic Goals

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• Account for full costs• Internalize externalities of MWM services • Dedicate MWM revenue to support recycling

programs • Reduce MWM cost by promoting landfill

diversion • Improve collection efficiency • Privatize service

Reduced MWM budget does not necessarily entail an increase in service fees or service interruptions.

Ai, Ning, and Anthony Grande. 2012. “Financially-Viable Approaches to Municipal Solid Waste Management during Economic Recession.” Young Professional Best Paper, 105th Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, San Antonio, Texas, June 19–22.

Market-Based Instruments for MWM

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Ai and Leigh (2017). Adapted from UNEP 2015, Box 4.17, and Cointreau and Hornig 2003*Waste flow controls have been proposed by several regions but are currently prohibited by federal law.

REVENUE-GENERATINGINSTRUMENTS

COST-INCURRING INSTRUMENTS NON-REVENUEINSTRUMENTS

– Variable unit pricing – Subsidies – Tradable pollution rights– Waste flow controls* – Tax credits for green businesses – Liability for environmental

damage– Green taxes (eco-taxes) on

consumption and production (e.g. plastic bag fees, tax on the use of hazardous substances in products)

– Host community compensations for facility siting

– Public procurement requirements (e.g.

goods with specified percentage of recycled materials)

– Taxes on disposal options (e.g., landfilling, incineration)

– Grants (e.g. for research and recycling programs)

– Deposit-refund systems (e.g. for beverage containers)

– Rewards for recycling – Extended producer responsibility (EPR)

Economic Incentives

Pay as You Throw (PAYT) Recycling Reward Programs

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Source: http://www.go-green.ae/uploads/rewardsa.jpgSource: City of Portland.

Impact of Reduced Garbage Collection on Diversion

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http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=42689&a=366217f

Images: City of Portland.

Improve the MWM Efficiency by Strategic Infrastructure Planning

Integrated Infrastructure Planning Minimize Impacts of Existing Facilities • Monitor existing use and capacity• Expand MRF, C&D, and WTE capabilities• Explore new MWM methods and techniques• Recover methane from closed landfills

Avoid Unnecessary Expansion• Encourage source reduction and separation, recycling, reuse and composting• Incorporate reduction, diversion, and conversion in capacity projections• Require a county-wide review before siting new landfills

Mitigate Impacts of New Facilities• Preserve industrial lands• Only site new landfills in Candidate Solid Waste Landfill overlay• Design access routes to minimize traffic impacts• Screen landfills with vegetation• Plan for eventual restoration• Increase public awareness of solid waste issues

Consider MWM in New Development

14Ai and Leigh (2017) Adapted from Daniels, 2014, p. 238.Summary from Envision San José 2040: General Plan, Adopted November 1, 2011

Connecting MWM Planswith Other Regional Plans

15Source: Metro Vancouver (2010).

Sustainability Implications of Wasted Food

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“Smart” Opportunities to Close the Loop

• Real-time waste monitoring• B2B Marketplace for surplus food • Neighborhood sharing • Re-market unsellable and “ugly” food• Up-cycling food waste into fertilizer

17Text adapted from https://foodtechconnect.com/2015/10/09/10-startups-reducing-food-waste-one-byte-at-a-time/Images from left to right: [1] https://www.foodrescue.io/; [2] http://olioex.com/; [3] http://cdn.psfk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/loveuglyfood.jpg; [4] http://cleantechnica.com/files/2012/11/Re-Nuble.jpg.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Need of Community-Specific Data

18Chart by Ning Ai. Data source Chicago Department of Environment 2010)

Comparison of top-ten landfill-bound residential waste composition by income groupComparison of residential MSW composition

Source: Illinois Recycling Association 2015, Fig 2-15

MSW Data Collected in Other Countries

19Material Flow Indicators and Targets in Japan’s Material-cycle Society Plan Source: UNEP 2015, Box 2.1. Eurostat 2017

Planning Tools that Facilitate MWM Data Collection

• City ordinances that incorporate the considerations of recycling and data reporting

• Market derived data (e.g. Pay as You Throw programs) • Web-based tools for MWM data analysis, information sharing, and

policy development • Managing and Transforming Waste Stream Tool (US EPA )• Policy and Program Impact Estimator (US EPA )• Food Waste Management Cost Calculator (US EPA )• Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (US EPA) • Population and Municipal Solid Waste Composition Calculator (NY)

• Stakeholder involvement

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Emerging Technology in MWM

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Source: Ai and Leigh (2017). Adapted from Hannan et al. 2015 and Lawrence and Woods 2014, Figure 3.1.

Confounding Factors of Equity in MWM

Market Factors Planning Tools

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Interstate waste movement, 2003 (Repa 2005) Example zoning ordinance showing zoning districts in which MWM facilities are permitted (Sacramento County CA 2017)

Stakeholders in MWM

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Source: UNEP 2015, Figure 4.5.

Transition to Material Centered MWM

24Flanders, Belgium (2016)

Summary

• MWM is a local practice that generates impacts across environmental media, political jurisdiction, and generations.

• Planners need to better understand MWM to minimize hazards to the environment while improving the efficiency of economic development and promoting social equity.

• Opportunities are lost if we continue to focus on residual disposal and examine waste materials simply as the byproduct of socioeconomic activities.

• Integrated MWM strategies can be developed to balance the economic, environmental, and equity goals.

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Questions and Comments

Nancey Green Leigh, PhD. FAICP

Professor; Associate Dean for Research, College of Design

26

Ning Ai, PhD.

Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago

Elizabeth Balkan

Director of Policy; Senior Advisor to the Commissioner at the NYC Department of Sanitation

ain@uic.edu ngleigh@gatech.edu ebalkan@dsny.nyc.gov

Sustainable Economic Development

via the R3 Industry

American Planning AssociationNational Conference 2017

Nancey Green Leigh, PhD, FAICPSchool of City and Regional Planning

Georgia Institute of Technologyngleigh@gatech.edu

OVERVIEW

Development of the R3 Industry

Supply chains and recycling choices from the firm perspective

Job creation potential of waste diversion strategies from R3 = reuse, recycling, remanufacturing

Role of For-Profit & Nonprofit R3 businesses

Planning and policy to foster R3 economic development

DEVELOPMENT OF THE R3 INDUSTRY

R3 DEVELOPMENT STIMULI

Legal mandates at state or local level that require waste diversion

Industry-driven due to sustainability objectives or fear of legislative action

Firm recovery of valuable materials

Waste-to-Profit matches local generators of wastes with local businesses interested in recycling materials as substitutes for raw materials

Firms seeking competitive advantage

Firm competitive advantage

Comes from recycling with disassembly

five different outlets (material salvage and components in the secondary market,

raw material suppliers, component suppliers, contract manufacturer/subassembly

producers, and original equipment manufacturers)

If viewed as cost to be minimized → outsourcing, low cost strategy

Redesign of products → cradle to cradle, DFE → innovation & competitive

advantage; first mover…

Recycling without disassembly

Can be highly automated (shredders, crushers, mechanical separators)

Only two outlets (disposal & secondary market)

Low risk & return, firm continues business as usual

R3 Supply Chains

Firms Adopting Landfill-Free Practices

• General Motors example: 152 facilities world-wide including 48 in U.S. & 17 in both Mexico and South Korea

• $3.5 Bln revenue from recycling 2007-2016

R3 INDUSTRY JOB CREATION

Significantly more jobs created by recycling than landfill disposal:

Ten times or more

further material handling, sorting, processing, manufacture, distribution, research and development, marketing, sales and related administrative and support activities

Recycling jobs typically pay higher than the average of annual wages and than waste management industry

INCREASING JOBS & LABOR MARKET SHARE

Manufacturing jobs overall declining, but recycling manufacturing jobs growing

Southeast states between 2010 & 2017: number of manufacturers

grew from 206 to 362 (+56%)

Jobs doubled to nearly 98,000

Sales grew from $29.4 to $43.2 bln.

Source: Southeast Regional Development Council, http://sedc.org, accessed 5/2/17

State Mfg

Firms

Jobs Total Annual Sales

Alabama 42 17,350 $ 7,838,028,050

Arkansas 12 5,420 $ 1,710,190,000Florida 28 4,884 $ 1,328,083,720Georgia 49 13,151 $ 7,180,349,710

Kentucky 41 11,232 $ 5,171,108,970

Louisiana 13 4,887 $ 1,146,008,370Mississippi 11 1,971 $ 1,946,893,210North Carolina

60 14,142 $ 4,077,868,590

South Carolina

47 10,442 $ 5,562,649,580

Tennessee 40 7,730 $ 4,412,814,900Virginia 19 6,759 $ 2,782,619,720Total 362 97,968 $43,156,614,820

R3 INDUSTRY OCCUPATIONS

Occupations not included in BLS data include: drivers transporting recyclables; sorters; route managers; MRF managers; others engaged in creation of new products from recycled materials (production workers, engineers, designers, and artists)

OCCUPATIONMEDIAN HOURLY

WAGE

General and operations managers $45.56

Logisticians $31.85

Sales representatives, wholesale manufacturing, excepttechnical and scientific products

$27.13

Sales representatives, services, all other $27.56

Industrial machinery mechanics $21.21

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists $21.46

Refuse and recyclable material collectors $16.12

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand $11.57

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2015

Job Vacancies in R3 Industries

7,600 vacancies in 1 year in well-known national reuse stores

R3 Nonprofit Focus Reuse Practice R3 Results

Goodwill Job training and placement for immigrants, veterans, disabled persons, seniors, and youth

Receives donations of used items that are sold in 2,700 retail stores

$3.5 billion in retail salesEmployment of about 25 people at each store

Salvation Army Christian faith-based organization

Runs 1,315 resale stores to support program that provides adult residential and employment services

64,146 people employed and 86,958 job referrals

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Faith-based organization specializing in resale and recycling

Operates 360 resale stores Paid $68.5 million in wages and benefits to 7,071 employees

Habitat for Humanity Restore

ReStores profits support homebuilding efforts for low-income families

Sells used and new building materials as well as used furniture

2004 avg. sale volume per store: $187,833. Plans to open 300-400 stores.

FOR PROFIT, NONPROFIT & PARTNERSHIPS IN R3

For profits

Greater focus on higher value or volume materialSeek to minimize labor costs by adopting new technologyMore active in localities with strong policies to support a recycling market

Nonprofits

Goals may be job creation for “hard-to-employ” or protect the environment

More active in localities with weaker or nonexistent R3 policies For profits and nonprofits can work together

Savers, Inc: for profit thrift store chain purchases material from nonprofits that use profits to support programs and services

PRIVATE SECTOR ROLE IN MWM SERVICES

ContractingConcessionsLeasesFranchisesOpen Competitions

Chicago’s Blue Cart Program:Competition between city

recycling crews and private companies, who won contracts for about half the recycling households

Projected savings of $4.7 million in recycling costs

Source: Gatewaygreen.org

Nonprofit Sector in MWM

Diversity in organization, size, & industry sector

Vary by job types, wages, revenue, products, processes, and purpose

Process and resell lower value itemsclothing, household goods, used building materials

Sell directly in retail stores or provide manual disassembly and sorting for private firms

Perform producer responsibility functions

R3 Nonprofit Mission: Job Creation for Hard-to-Employ

• Major focus on persons with disabilities & formerly incarcerated

• Park City Green mattress recycling• Created 15-20 direct administrative and entry-

level jobs and 5-10 indirect logistic, transportation, and broker jobs

• Saves municipalities $15-20 per matress in disposal costs

Source: Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises. http://greenteambpt.com/park-city-green-mattress-recycling/

R3 Nonprofit Mission: Meeting Housing Needs

Habitat for Humanity Restores

support affiliates in building & repair of affordable, sustainable housing in partnership with deserving families through sale of new & used furniture, appliances, & building materials

Source: Morinda and Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, Utah. https://www.morinda.com/en-us/press/1618105/Morinda%20Assists%20in%20Funding%20Habitat%20for%20Humanity%20Home

Used Merchandise Stores in R3 IndustryResale, consignment, thrift, and antiques stores

25,000 stores and combined annual revenue estimated at $16 billion (First Research, 2012).

142,540 people work in the industry (BLS 2013).

Significant share of the consumer market: 16-18% of Americans will shop in thrift stores during a given year (National Association of Resale Professionals 2013)

Annual revenue per worker averaged $120,000

Clustering of resale stores is a recent industry trend for attracting customers

Ex-Offenders and Homeless Workers in R3

• Specific focus of Park City Green, Salvation Army, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul

• AWARE is a nonprofit that serves the homeless through its “Labor of Recovery” program in downtown San Diego, California

• Independent recycling collection in states with container deposit fee programs

Image Source: AWARE. “Our Story.” http://www.awarerecycling.com/our-story.html

NONPROFIT R3 IN SWITZERLAND

Nonprofit recycling facility located in Winterthur, near Zurich

Teens who commit petty crimes can choose to carry out a recycling apprenticeship rather than going to jail

Trained in electronics disassembly and other kinds of recycling

32 employees

Processes close to 2,500 pounds of e-waste per year

Swiss Example: SWICO Recycling

SWICO operates national, nonprofit system for reclaiming discarded electronic and electrical equipment.equipment.

Advanced recovery fee funds the national recycling system and is paid at the time of purchase.

In the U.S., California has adopted this approach.

Fee adoption has led to development of “professional approach” to recycling and creation of a new profession with formal apprenticeships (SWICO Recycling 2013)

Image Source: Greenbyte.ch. (2012). “Energiedirektorlobt Swico.”http://greenbyte.ch/9975/energiedirektor-lobt-swico/

Swiss Recycling Facilities

Attractive facilities combat NIMBYism

U.S. cities can learn from Switzerland

Images Source: Fahrni. (2013). “Swiss Waste

Management Today: Context and Background.” http://www.svut.ch/up/files/1_Fahrni.pdf

PLANNING & POLICY TOOLS FOR

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM MSW

Why is R3 industry so underdeveloped in United States?

Businesses and consumers do not pay the real costs of waste disposalUnderappreciation of economic development potential

How to expand R3 industry in U.S.?

“Stick” approaches such as banning certain materials from landfills

“Carrot” approaches such as small business assistance

Land use planning for appropriate siting of recycling facilities“Push” factors such as PAYT tool

“Pull” factors such as wider adoption of LEED certification system

Traditional business incentives for recycling industriesRecycling industry training at community & technical colleges

Advancing R3 Summary

U.S. needs to significantly increase 35% waste diversion rate.

Cities are key to doing so.

Significant for profit & non-profit business potential from diverting higher percentages.

Inner city unemployment, long-term & hard-to-employ will benefit greatly from strategic efforts to grow R3.

This is an opportunity we should not waste (pun intended).

American Planning AssociationPlanning Advisory Service Report

2017Ning Ai and Nancey Green Leigh

Questions?

For full bibliography related to this presentation, please refer to PAS report 587.

Planning’s Role

in Sustainable Waste Management

Elizabeth Balkan, NYC Department of Sanitation

New York is a city of islands

Water

Goods

People

Ideas

Services

Wastewater

Goods

People

Garbage

Recyclables

Ideas

Services

…as well as a city of inputs and outputs

NYC housing stock is dense

NYC housing stock is dense and diverse

1.4 m 2-10 family units 600,000 single-family units

1 m multi-family units

NYC Department of Sanitation

THEN NOW

Established more than 100 years ago

DSNY operations rely on infrastructure,

DSNY operations rely on infrastructure,

Fleet,

DSNY operations rely on infrastructure,

Fleet, personnel and planning

1885 1947 1960s 1979 1996

NYC burning 1/3 its

waste in 32 municipal &

2,500 apartment building-

based incinerators; The

rest was being buried in

35 municipal landfills

Fresh Kills

opens with

a projected

20 year

lifetime

Mayor Koch

proposed

construction of a

new incinerator at

Brooklyn Navy Yard

Mayor Giuliani signs a

bill that prohibits

incinerator construction

+ closes NYC’s

last landfill

The world’s first

incinerator comes

online, in NYC

NYC: A century in solid waste management

NYC waste collection and disposal

A massive exercise in logistics

Goal: send zero waste to landfill by 2030

Develop programs for every slice of the waste pie

Expand organics citywide by 2018

NYC’s organics program is now the nation’s largest

Make recycling available + easy for everyone

NYC will move to single stream recycling by 2020

And has expanded collection + infrastructure citywide

Expand diversion options for textiles + e-waste

Design programs for a vertical city

Reduce the portion delineated “Other”

Eliminate non-recyclable materials from the waste stream

Educate the next generation of New Yorkers

Support reuse + foster circular solutions

SAYT

METERED

Incentivize waste reduction

ELECTRICITY GAS WATER WASTE

Foodservice in Hotels

150 Rooms

Food Manufacturers

25,000 Square Feet

Food Wholesalers

20,000 Square Feet

Stadiums + Arenas

15,000 Seats

Require large generators to divert food waste

Introducing the NYC Food Waste Fair

Elizabeth Balkan

ebalkan@dsny.nyc.gov

THANK YOU