Total Materials Management Approach

Within Elemental Impact's (Ei) Recycling Refinement platform, a Total Materials Management Approach - evaluating the entire materials stream in one cost / revenue center- is used. The stated objective is true zero waste with a strong focus on ultimate material destination and the remaining "trash" within the stream. Materials with solid end markets (e.g. aluminum, mixed paper, certain plastics) subsidize more challenging streams generated in operations.

Ei Chair Scott Seydel @ MRF

Until recently zero waste measurement was quantified as diversion rates from the landfill without final destination consideration. Known for high levels of contamination, single-stream recycling - often the only recycling option available for the corporate community - results in a high percentage of recyclable items landfill destined. Thus, “true recycling rates” are often inflated with single-stream recycling programs.

Note effective single-stream MRF – material recovery facilities – separation is limited by the contamination in the delivered material. Published reports substantiate curbside single-recycling programs often contain significant contaminates, which may then contaminate the corporate recycling delivered to the MRF.

The Source-Separated Materials Recycling Template (S-SMRT) targets moderate material generators whose current recycling option is single-stream recycling. Grounded in on-site material source-separation and baling, the S-SMRT is developing a city-wide material recovery template with Atlanta serving as the pilot city.

When evaluating recycling programs, organizations generally prepare a business case or cost-benefit analysis to ensure there is a reasonable ROI – return on investment – for the particular material stream. Hard-to-recycle items or those with little to no ROI are landfill destined without further consideration. 

S-SMRT epitomizes a common Ei phrase:

Ei is a creator, an incubator.

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done.

Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

Ei identifies pioneers and creates heroes.

In simplistic terms, S-SMRT encompasses the Total Material Management Approach with the following steps:

GWCC Orwak baler - the
workhorse in the S-SRMT

• Generators source-separate material on-site and compact into mini bales.
• Hauler collects bales for transport to the recycling center.
• Recycling center associates track material received by type | generator, re-bale into standard sized bales, and store in a tractor trailer by material type until full.
• Hauler sells material directly to a manufacturing | recycling end destination and pays rebates to generators based on their respective percentage of the load sold.
• Ei oversees the system to ensure the entire value chain makes a reasonable profit.

Financial template success is grounded in two factors: CLEAN MATERIAL & VOLUME. The template tagline is:

Contamination is a Mistake!

Ei Partner M-PASS Environmental serves as the S-SMRT hauler and intends to create a turnkey option for the next tier of template pioneers. With M-PASS associates baling the material there is strong control over the quality of material sent to the recycling center.

S-SMRT is an evolutionary process. The 2011 Atlanta Airport milk jug recycling pilot, initiated by Ei Partner HMSHost, served as the early template catalyst. The ZWA Blog article, Milk Jugs Recycled at the Atlanta Airport, gave an overview of the S-SMRT first step.

Louis Herrera educating
Matt Hupp on plastic film @ CM

In 2012, the Sustainable Food Court Initiative (SFCI) - Shopping Mall Pilot at Concord Mills launched the first shopping mall plastic film recycling pilot; the second step in the template foundation. Ei Partner Louis Herrera of Hilex Poly was the visionary and plastic film educator during the pilot development. The ZWA Blog article, ACTION: Theme for the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot, announced the plastic film recycling pilot.

A third significant template step was the Fresh Point ATL (FPA) plastic film recycling pilot. In the ZWA Blog article, Plastic Film Recycling: A New Frontier, the plastic film recycling history, facts and the FPA pilot were detailed. Ei's first directed video, Ei Plastic Film Recycling Pilot at FreshPoint ATL, debuted in the ZWA Blog article, Plastic Film Recycling Template Video Published.

When the Georgia World Congress Center joined the S-SMRT in spring 2014, the template immediately expanded beyond plastic film to total materials - a HUGE fourth step in template development. 

The June Atlanta Ei Partner Tours were designed as a two-day experiential strategy session for further template development. Local end market destinations Novelis and Pratt Industries hosted the first tours day. Ei Partner Novelis - the world's largest aluminum manufacturer - has an aluminum recycling plant less than 100 miles from Atlanta.

Ei Partners ready to tour
the Novelis recycling plant

On the second day tours Tim Trefzer, GWCC director of sustainability, welcomed the Ei Partners to the GWCC for a presentation of successes to date, including the 2013 "Greenest" Final Four hosted at the Georgia Dome. A back-of-house tour of recycling practices in-place followed the formal presentation. 

Michael Cheyne, Atlanta Airport director of asset management and sustainability, and Scott Jenkins, New Falcons Stadium general manager, joined the lunch hosted by NatureWorks and gave invigorating updates. Note the Atlanta Airport serves as the SFCI - Airport Pilot and the Georgia Dome is the SFCI - Event Venue Pilot.

The IMPACT Blog article, Atlanta Ei Partner Tours, chronicles the powerful tours.

Novelis is the Atlanta Falcons recycling partner and key to S-SMRT success. Due to contamination levels at the local MRF aluminum generated at the Georgia Dome (30,000+ aluminum beer bottles at a Falcons home game) does not meet Novelis aluminum quality standards. With their ambitious 80% recycled content goal, Novelis is "hungry" for clean aluminum and a strong S-SMRT partner.

The VERY first aluminum
baled at the GWCC

With clean material addressed, the volume is achieved through expanding template pioneers to a second tier, followed by additional tiers. Cindy Jackson, Georgia Tech recycling & waste director, attended the Atlanta Ei Partner Tours and is ready for the template business case. 

Ei Partner Keter Environmental Services holds the waste & recycling contracts for three Class A Atlanta malls. The intent is for the three malls to join the S-SMRT as template pioneers in early 2015.

Invitations to additional template pioneers - all prominent industry leaders - are slated for early 2015.

For a S-SMRT work-in-progress overview, visit the following ZWA Blog articles:

• If it was easy, it would already be done  - introduces the pilot & details challenges.
• Plastic Film Recycling: A New Frontier - gives Ei plastic film history along with a pilot update.
• Sustainability in ACTION at the Georgia Dome - provides a template update including the opening pre-season Falcons game fact finding mission. 
  

Ei Team @ GA Dome to
scout material @ a Falcons game

The S-SMRT website page lists the stellar Ei Team comprised of Lead Pioneers, Infrastructure and End Market Partners.

With an initial focus on the high value materials - aluminum, mixed paper and certain plastics, the S-SMRT is destined to generate profit for participates. These profits are designated to cover costs associated with challenging material streams such as food waste.

Synergistic in timing, the SFCI 2014 | 2015 stated focus is post-consumer food waste. The ZWA Blog article, SFCI targets post-consumer food waste, announces the focus.

M-PASS Lorraine White
"picking the bowl" for food waste

Back-of-the-house (pre-consumer) food waste industry practices were perfected by early zero waste pioneers. Front-of-the-house (post-consumer) food waste remains a recycling frontier for two main reasons: 1> necessary shift in consumer-facing packaging to create clean food waste streams and 2> consumer responsibility for food waste disposal. 

S-SMRT profit is earmarked to cover the expense of implementing a post-consumer food waste collection program at pioneer facilities with foodservice operations. Anticipated program costs include shifting to compostable food & beverage packaging, purchasing or modifying existing collection bins, recycling station signage, and an employee training system.

Once food waste is addressed, the game plan is to evaluate remaining trash and work within the supply chain for solutions. Supply chain engagement is critical to achieving true zero waste. The ZWA Blog article, Supply Chain Critical to Zero Waste Success, introduces the supply chain role in successful recycling programs along with solid examples.

A Total Materials Management Approach to recycling programs is a journey well on its path. Yet challenges abound for the Ei Team to unravel into success. Stay tuned for tales from the adventure!

SFCI targets post-consumer food waste

When the Zero Waste Zones launched in 2009 Atlanta was thrust into the national spotlight as the leader in the commercial collection of food waste for compost. As highlighted in the CNN story City aims for zero waste, the ZWZ focused on back-of-the-house (BOH) | pre-consumer food waste collection for compost.

Chef Ahmad Nourzad
w/ Affairs to Remember

"It was Easy - Thank You" was a common phrase from ZWZ Participants. Yet arriving to this point was NOT easy! It took a team of industry leaders who were willing to figure out by trial and error the new "easy" food waste collection practices. Kudos to Patrick Cuccaro of Affairs to Remember, Randy Childers of The Hyatt Regency, Steve Simon of fifth group restaurants, Executive Chef Frank Abbinanti of Levy Restaurants | Georgia World Congress Center, to name a few, for leading the industry in pre-consumer food waste collection!

With Elemental Impact's (Ei) ZWZ role complete, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) purchased the ZWZ in late 2012 to augment its ConServe Program. The ZWZ sale substantiated Ei as a powerful program creator. A common phrase in Ei founder Holly Elmore's many speaking engagements summarizes Ei's industry role:

Ei is a creator, an incubator.

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done.

Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

Ei identifies pioneers and creates heroes.

The August, 2013 IMPACT Blog article, Ei Emerges Strong from a Metamorphosis, announces the Ei triple-platform focus: Product Stewardship, Recycling Refinement and Water Use | Toxicity. Within Recycling Refinement - moving beyond landfill diversion - post-consumer food waste collection is a primary focus, along with on-site source-separated material for recycling collection.

As ZWZ Participants, each of the Sustainable Food Court Initiative Pilots have strong pre-consumer food waste collection commitments. Below is a recap of the respective SFCI Pilot's goals for post-consumer food waste collection for compost or other state-permitted destinations other than landfill:

The 2014 | 2015 primary SFCI focus is post-consumer food waste collection.

SFCI - Shopping Center Pilot:

As the SFCI - Shopping Center Pilot, Concord Mills in Charlotte, NC takes an industry leading role in mall food court BOH food waste collection, wasted food donation and plastic film recycling. The March 2013 ZWA Blog article, Bring the Possible out of Impossible, highlights the strong working relationship with Ei Partner HMSHost (food court concessionaire) and mall owner Simon Property Group.

Ray with his Orwak baler,
the workhorse of the plastic film
recycling program

In April, Concord Mills general manager Ray Soporowski hosted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV Scaling Up Compost in Charlotte Grant Team for a tour of the food waste and plastic film recycling programs. During the tour, Ray agreed to pilot a post-consumer food waste collection program in the food court. The game plan is to meet in the summer to devise a game plan for implementation after the busy year-end holiday season. The ZWA Blog article, Charlotte Focuses on Food Waste with EPA Grant Support, recaps the April Charlotte visit.

The Ei Team visits Charlotte July 30 - August 01 for three days of powerful tours, meetings and strategy sessions. A meeting with Ray on the Concord Mills post-consumer food waste collection pilot is scheduled as a top priority.

SFCI - Airport Pilot

In 2011 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, made a bold sustainable statement by including a provision in the Airport Concessionaire Request for Proposal requiring food vendors to use compostable packaging. 

Ei Chair Scott Seydel w/ Scott
DeFife of the NRA w/the
Going Green Airports Award

The provision announcement coincided with the Atlanta Airport stepping forward as the first SFCI Pilot. For an overview of the groundbreaking provision, visit the ZWA Blog article, Atlanta Airport Makes a Bold Sustainable Statement. The SFCI - Atlanta Airport won a 2011 Going Green Airports Award for the contract provision.

The Ei Atlanta Airport Compostable Packaging Information Packet page is an overview of the comprehensive document prepared by the SFCI Team in 2012 to educate airport concessionaires on the contract provision.

With the new contract completing its eighteen month implementation process, the Airport is informing concessionaires the compostable packaging provision is effective by year end. Liza Milagro - Atlanta Airport senior sustainability planner - is orchestrating a series of lunch and learn sessions to educate and prepare the Concessions Department for provision compliance.

Liza & Doug @ Atlanta Airport 

SFCI co-chair Doug Kunnemann of NatureWorks works closely with Liza on developing a Compostable Packaging Products Manual to aid concessionaires in meeting the contract provision. The document focus is on the compostable packaging definition and how to communicate the packaging requirements within the concessionaire supply chain.

On Friday, August 8 Liza meets with the newly formed Ei Sustainable Materials ACTION Team chaired by Sarah Martell of innovia Films to tour the airport concession operations. Committee members Grant Braasch of NatureWorks, Rick Lombardo of Natur-Tec and Wendell Simonson of Eco-Products will share their expertise with Liza and offer their on-going support. 

The Ei Sustainable Materials ACTION Team is a team of industry experts from non-profits and private enterprise who provide support to foodservice operators eager to refine their food waste collection practices. One of the main committee tasks is to support the SFCI Pilots as they embark on post-consumer food waste collection programs.

SFCI - Event Venue Pilot

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority, including the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, was the first ZWZ Participant and hosted the acclaimed 2009 press conference launching the program. A veteran to zero waste practices, the GWCC is eager to refine their recycling programs.  

Tim "picking the bowl" @
2013 Falcons Game

In early 2012 GWCCA director of sustainability Tim Trefzer gave the big YES to the Georgia Dome serving as the SFCI - Event Venue Pilot!  For the 2014 Atlanta Falcons season, the SFCI - Georgia Dome announces the following goals:

1. Implement a post-consumer food waste collection program
2. Source-separate material generated for on-site produced mini-bales
3. Expand game day tailgate recycling initiatives in the GWCC-owned parking lots; explore recycling possibilities at privately held parking lots. 

Establishing baselines | fact finding for the business model development is the first action step and timing is impeccable with the upcoming August 08 & 23 pre-season Falcons home games. Future articles will document the planning and action necessary to accomplish the 2014 Atlanta Falcons Season Goals.

Food donation programs are integral to successful post-consumer food waste systems. In the original ZWZ Criteria, participants were required to donate excess food in accordance with the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. Often there is prepared food deemed unservable due to quality standards yet meets the donation standards.

Perry with food ready for donation

Perry Kranias with HMSHost - Tampa International Airport is a leading pioneer in maximizing donated food in commercial foodservice operations. The ZWA Blog's most popular article (almost to 8,000 pageviews!), Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third, is an introduction to the Tampa Airport donation program. 

HMSHost contracts with the Food Donation Connection (FDC) on a national basis to orchestrate their donation programs. FDC is a NRA partner organization who specializes in the tax benefits generated by food donation programs. In partnership with YUM! Brands, FDC produced an excellent video, HMSHost and Food Donation Connection Food Rescue, on their system featuring the Tampa Airport donation program.

The post-consumer food waste goals are stated, action plans are established or in the formation stage, and the Ei Team is mobilized to provide guidance and support to industry pioneers. 

Ei's tagline Sustainability in ACTION is indeed in action for post-consumer food waste programs. Let the possible flow from the impossible while pioneers segue into heroes!

Plastic-Film Recycling: A New Frontier

A common Ei phrase is: "Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done." Embarking on a metro-wide plastic film recycling template pilot epitomizes the phrase. 

For most corporate entities, single-stream recycling is the only recycling option available for materials and by-products generated during operations. Although a valuable commodity, plastic film is a contaminant in single-stream recycling. The film wraps around machinery, often causing costly sorting delays.

Large plastic film generators compact the material into standard bales weighing 750 pounds to 1,000 pounds. For Piazza Produce, plastic film rebates rival corrugated cardboard as the top revenue producing material at their zero waste facility in Indianapolis. To learn about Piazza Produce's impressive zero waste program created by facility manager Scott Lutocka read the ZWA Blog articles, Zero Waste is a Team Sport and Source Separation Key to Maximum Recycling Profits.

Plastic film recycling among moderate generators is a frontier where infrastructure must be developed, within the company and the community. Many moderate generators use a sixty inch downstroke baler for their corrugated cardboard baling. When using the large baler for plastic film, the company must accumulate 750 plus pounds of plastic film for one bale. The logistics and space requirements to aggregate the film is not practical for most smaller producers.

Ei Team poses in front of a
GWCC plastic film filled container

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority, consisting of the Ga Dome (home to the Atlanta Falcons), Olympic Centennial Park (20 acre park commemorating the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics) and the Ga World Congress Center (fourth largest convention center in the nation), is a moderate plastic film generator. 

Several years ago GWCCA director of sustainability Tim Trefzer experimented with baling plastic film generated at the complex. After one large bale, Tim understood the benefits did not justify the required logistics.

Small balers play a vital role in aggregating plastic film for collection where moderate amounts are generated. Depending on the type of plastic, small balers produce easy-to-manage 100 to 200 pound bales. 

milk jugs in baler
@ ATL Airport

Elemental Impact first began working with Orwak small balers when Ei Partner HMSHost embarked on a milk jug recycling program at their Atlanta Airport Starbucks locations. On average the milk jug bales weigh 60+ pounds. HMSHost found the rebates from selling used milk jugs in the commodity market offset the baler and labor cost inherent within the program. The ZWA Blog post, Milk Jugs Recycled at Atlanta Airport, is an overview of the successful program launch.  Note the Atlanta Airport is the Sustainable Food Court Initiative Airport Pilot.

Next on the agenda was tackling plastic film recycling via internal company programs using on-site small balers. In 2011 Simon Property Group - the nation's largest mall and commercial real estate owner - joined the Ei Partner Program to develop zero waste practices at their malls, with a focus on plastic film and food waste. Synchronistic with Ei and Simon joining forces, the garment industry shifted from bulk retail packaging to individual packages in clear plastic film. RESULT: increased landfill tipping fees from the tremendous increase in tenant-produced plastic film.

In August 2012 Concord Mills, the SFCI Mall Pilot, launched their successful plastic film recycling program using an Orwak mini baler. The film rebates, coupled with reduced landfill tipping fees, cover the baler and labor cost and improve the bottom line. The ZWA Blog post, ACTION: Theme for SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot, announces the mall plastic film recycling program.

bagged plastic film ready for
baling @ Concord Mills

With single-location plastic film recycling success, Ei embarked on creating a city-wide plastic film recycling template pilot. Using lessons learned from the Zero Waste Zones 2009 launch, Ei understood how to develop a moderate generator network that results in route density and sufficient film quantity to sell material by the tractor trailer load. Thus, pilot pioneers share in the higher market value for volume sales. The small baler is a necessary template component.

In simple terms, the city-wide game plan is to recruit 10 - 12 industry pioneers who generate a moderate amount of plastic film in their operations. Using a small baler, the pioneers collect and bale plastic film on-site for periodic collection. A local hauler collects and delivers the small bales to a warehouse. The small bales are re-baled into standard size larger bales and stored in an empty tractor trailer. Once full, the plastic film is sold by the tractor trailer load as a raw material to a plastic bag manufacturer. Atlanta serves as the pilot city for the plastic film recycling template.

The ZWA Blog post, If it was easy, it would already be done, announces the city-wide template along with listing the inherent challenges within the groundbreaking program.

First meeting @ FreshPoint
introducing the pilot

Pilot pioneers are critical pilot team members. Working closely with the Ei Partners, the pioneers develop the internal systems necessary to collect the plastic film produced at their facility. Creative solutions to the operational and other challenges are integral to template development. Top management buy-in as well as employee engagement are required ingredients for success.

FreshPoint of Atlanta is the template founding pioneer. Owned by Sysco, FreshPoint is the nation's largest produce distributor with a strong sustainability commitment. As an early ZWZ Participant, FreshPoint has strong sustainability practices in-place and is eager to forge new recycling frontiers. 

Delivery of the Orwak baler
for the trial period

Ei Partner Orwak offered a complimentary small baler during the pilot trial period. On October 15 the baler was delivered to FreshPoint's Atlanta distribution center. The Ei Team was on-site to unveil the baler, survey plastic film collected and assist with making the first bale.  

While going through the collected plastic film, the team realized there was a significant amount of colored film that required a separate bale to maintain maximum material value.  A fun surprise was the disposable plastic aprons used in FreshPoint's produce cut shop were recyclable in the colored bales.

Shrink wrap securing produce boxes on pallets for customer delivery is one of FreshPoint's largest plastic film types generated. Prior to the pilot, the delivery labels were placed on the pallet after secured in shrink wrap. The labels are contamination for plastic film recycling. New procedures call for placing labels on the boxes prior to securing them with the shrink wrap. A simple procedure shift eliminated contamination.

Stuart Herman w/ Orwak
removing first plastic film bale

In the beginning the FreshPoint bales weighed roughly 60 pounds, less than half of the anticipated 150 - 200 pound bale. At Concord Mills, the bales average 175 pounds. Working with the FreshPoint associates on baling techniques, the bales now average 100 pounds. The remaining weight difference is due to the type of films generated at a mall versus a distribution center. Producing highly compacted bales is essential to maximizing the rebate revenue.

For the template pilot, Ei intends to invite 10-12 pioneers to join the plastic film recycling team. The GWCCA, Georgia Institute of Technology and the Atlanta Airport were invited and are exploring the feasibility of invitation acceptance. On November 6, Tim Trefzer with the GWCC and Liza Milagro, Atlanta Airport senior sustainability planner, visited FreshPoint's distribution center to understand the ease of collecting and baling plastic film in an industrial setting. In late December Ei founder Holly Elmore and Lorraine White of M-Pass met with Cindy Jackson, GA Tech waste & recycling director, and her team to introduce the plastic film recycling template pilot.

In addition to inviting pioneers, a next pilot step is to identify a recycling center location where the mini bales are re-baled into standard sized bales and stored in a tractor trailer until sold. In December Holly and Lorraine met at the U.S. Penitentiary - Atlanta with the local UNICOR folks to determine if synergies aligned to provide the recycling center facility and labor. As a second step in the evaluation process, Holly met with federal UNICOR associates in Washington D.C. later in the month.

Lorraine White with local
UNICOR folks @ ATL Penitentiary

UNICOR is the federal prison system employment arm. The ZWA blog article, Prisons: Valuable Resource for Recycling Refinement Systems?!, introduces the potential synergies for partnering with prison systems, along with outlining Ei's relationship with UNICOR and TRICOR, the Tennessee prison system employment arm.

Determining the types of plastic film produced among the various generators in a metro area is another action point within the template development. The goal is to invite a broad cross section of generators - distribution centers, hotels, airport, event | convention facilities, malls - to understand first-hand the types and quantities of plastic film produced in an urban district. Working with Ei Partner Hilex Poly, an industry leading manufacturer of plastic bag and film products, the pilot team will balance the labor required to separate plastic film type versus the material value. The intent is for Hilex Poly to purchase the plastic film by the tractor trailer load as a raw material for their manufacturing process.

Documentation is integral in template development, especially when the long-term intentions are to duplicate the program across the nation and expand source-separated material collection beyond plastic film to the components in single-stream recycling. The Ei FB album, Plastic Film Recycling: building a city-wide network, published as a comprehensive pictorial recap of the action to date in the city-wide plastic film recycling template pilot. The album is structured so it will accumulate the pictorial story as the template is built.

Ei Chair Scott Seydel
filming Preston Fletcher w/ FP

In late November the Ei film crew visited FreshPoint's distribution center for a morning of taping the plastic film recycling procedures in action. Timed with the Annual Ei Partner Meeting, executives from FreshPoint, Hilex Poly, Orwak, M-Pass and the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council joined the film crew for interviews on their role in creating a city-wide plastic film recycling template grounded in solid business sense. The EiPlastic Film Recovery Pilot @ FreshPoint video is the first version edited from FreshPoint's perspective.

ACTION is underway in this monumental template development. By creating new in-house practices and community infrastructure, the city-wide plastic film recycling template is staged to evolve corporate recycling options beyond single-stream. The pioneers are gathering to forge pathways into the a new recycling frontier. Stay tuned!!!