6 Materials Management Materials Management 6How our society uses materials has a fundamental effect on the economy and the environment. Inefficient and wasteful use of materials not only challenges the capacity of the earth—air, water, land, minerals, and other resources—but also the accessibility and affordability of the materials that we as a society rely on to function. For the Mid-Hudson Region, our goal is to shift from the status quo, where much of the material used in the Region is shipped to other parts of NYS or the US for disposal, to a future where the Region is self-sufficient in materials management, ultimately achieving a ‘zero waste’ outcome. Our plan centers on developing regional solutions to maximize the value of materials and extend their useful lifecycle, to: h Reduce waste generation h Decrease the impact of materials transportation for disposal/recovery h Increase reuse, recycling, composting h Enhance local market creation for improved materials recovery outcomes To achieve these objectives, we must: h Expand organics recycling h Increase material reuse h Promote product stewardship and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing h Pilot new technologies h Implement transportation improvements h Facilitate inter-county cooperation h Change policy to improve local management capacity 6-1 Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Plan Materials management seeks to understand how its objectives through the NYS Solid Waste Manage- society uses materials in an effort to change behavior, ment Plan, funding, permitting, and approval of local create smart policy, and implement programs to fulfill plans and facility applications. needs and ensure prosperity while using less mate- In the Mid-Hudson Region, each county serves as a rial, reducing toxic waste and exposure to hazardous formal Solid Waste Management Planning Unit, pro- substances, and recovering and reusing or recycling as viding oversight, guidance, and in some cases running much of the material consumed as possible. facilities and other infrastructure and services. For the Mid-Hudson Region, the goal is to shift to a Local municipalities are traditionally respon- future where the Region is largely or completely self- sible for implementation of materials manage- ment programs. Activities are typically run sufficient in materials management, and ultimately directly by local government or via contract with achieve a ‘zero waste’ outcome third-parties. In some cases a public authority is established to implement materials and solid The Mid-Hudson Region materials management strat- waste management within a political or geographic egy is intended to be consistent with the vision set by area. Efforts to address materials management on the NYSDEC’s sustainable materials management a regional level are ongoing as exemplified by the 138 strategy, Beyond Waste. The goal is to shift the focus Hudson Valley Regional Council (HVRC). The HVRC on materials management from ‘end of pipe’ waste has a Solid Waste Committee consisting of solid waste disposal to a more comprehensive perspective that professionals from all seven counties. Information addresses the entire materials lifecycle. For the Mid- about the Committee and its activities can be found on Hudson Region, the goal is to shift to a future where the HVRC website.140 the Region is largely or completely self-sufficient in materials management, and ultimately achieve a ‘zero The materials management landscape is complex due waste’ outcome (see callout box). This requires a sig- to the mix of both public and private-sector actors, nificant reduction in the quantity of waste generated as as well as inter-county and inter-regional export and well as the introduction of new management solutions. import of materials, making it difficult to speak in general terms about the Region. Data and trends col- lected from state and local actors are presented below. Zero Waste The heart of sustainable materials and waste 6.1.2 Material Definitions and Flows management lies in the concept of Zero Waste. As defined by the NYSDEC in Beyond Waste, and As defined by the Zero Waste International for the purposes of this Plan, municipal solid waste Alliance: “Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, (MSW) includes “materials generated by the residen- economical, efficient and visionary, to guide tial, commercial and institutional sectors.” Other people in changing their lifestyles and practices material streams such as industrial (by-products of to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all factories, mills, mines, etc.), construction and demolition discarded materials are designed to become (C & D—debris generated during the construction and resources for others to use.” demolition of buildings and infrastructure), and bio- solids (residual, semi-solid material left from industrial wastewater or sewage treatment processes) are not considered MSW in this Plan. Regional solid waste 6.1 Baseline Conditions types discussed in this Plan are described in greater 6.1.1 Materials Management Roles and detail in Table 6.1; please note that this is not a com- Responsibilities prehensive list of every type of solid waste. Obtaining county level information on materials Responsibility for materials management is shared by streams other than MSW is difficult due to the mul- multiple parties. The role of NYS is to provide over- tiplicity of private actors and the (sometimes) limited sight and assistance to local municipalities so that they monitoring capacity and regulation at the county level. may adhere to their solid waste management obliga- For those reasons statewide estimates from the NYS- tions as directed under NYS law. New York State itself DEC are used for benchmarking and comparative operates under a framework of federal guidance, purposes. Table 6.2 presents NYS’ 2008 solid waste which sets regulations and establishes guidelines gov- stream quantities broken down by method of disposal. erning activity in the sector to ensure some degree of As shown in Table 6.2, the largest material stream in national consistency.139 New York State accomplishes 138 NYSDEC, 2010. Beyond Waste. http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/41831.html 139 US EPA, 2013. Wastes Laws and Regulations (http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/laws-regs/index.htm) 6-2 140 Hudson Valley Regional Council: www.hudsonvalleyregionalcouncil.org 6 Materials Management Table 6.1 Regional Solid Waste Types Typical Method Waste Types Description of Collection Destination Any, material, object, product or debris that contains Asbestos Private Landfill—Out of Region asbestos Landfill—Out of Region Stabilized organic solids derived from wastewater Municipal Biosolids Incineration treatment processes Private Reuse Application The solid inert component of the waste stream arising Landfill—Out of Region C & D from the construction, demolition or refurbishment of Private buildings or infrastructure Materials Recovery Facility Any unwanted or discarded material (excluding radioactive material), which because of its physical, chemical or infectious characteristics can cause Hazardous Private Landfill—Out of Region significant hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed Waste stream arising from commercial, industrial, Landfill—Out of Region government, public or domestic premises (not collected Municipal Industrial Incineration as Municipal Solid Waste), but does not contain Listed Private Waste, Hazardous Waste or Radioactive Waste Materials Recovery Facility Waste and recyclable materials stream arising from Landfill—Out of Region domestic premises including items such as product Municipal MSW Incineration packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, Private food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, batteries. Materials Recovery Facility Materials Recovery and Subset of MSW; biodegradable waste including Composting Facility MSW-Green landscape debris (grass clippings, autumn leaves, Municipal Left in place or and Yard Waste hedge trimmings, woody debris, etc.) as well as Private composted on site domestic and commercial food waste. Landfill—Out of Region Subset of MSW; includes expired, unused, spilt, and contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, vaccines, and sera that are no longer required and MSW- need to be disposed of appropriately. The category Municipal Landfill—Out of Region Pharmaceutical also includes discarded items used in the handling Waste Private Incineration of pharmaceuticals, such as bottles or boxes with residues, gloves, masks, connecting tubing, and drug vials. Universal/ Subset of MSW and hazardous waste; which includes Household widely generated materials such as paints, batteries, Municipal Landfill—Out of Region Hazardous pesticides, mercury-containing equipment, and bulbs Private Materials Recovery Facility Waste (HHW) (lamps) 6-3 Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Plan Table 6.2 Materials and Waste Management in NYS, 2008 MSW Industrial C & D Biosolids Total Million Million Million Million Million Tons % Tons % Tons % Tons % Tons % Recycle/ 3.7 20 1.4 39 7.2 55 0.9 47 13.1 36 Compost Landfill 6.0 33 2.1 60 4.1 32 0.3 17 12.5 34 Combustion 2.5 14 <0.1 1 <0.1 0 0.4 24 3.0 8 Export for 6.1 33 <0.1 0 1.7 13 0.2 12 8.0 22 Disposal Total 18.3 100 3.5 100 13.0 100 1.8 100 36.6 100 Source: NYSDEC, 2010. Beyond Waste. NYS is MSW, which makes up 50 percent of the total compared with NYS. With moderate effort, the Region and of which 20 percent is recycled. The second larg- can likely perform far better than the NYS average. est stream is C & D waste, at 36 percent of the total, However, to meet the NYSDEC’s Beyond Waste goals 55 percent of which is recycled. It is assumed that of 1.7 pounds/person/day by 2020, and this Plan’s the Mid-Hudson Region has a similar profile; however, MSW recycling rate goal of 50 percent, the Region will data availability is limited, particularly for non-MSW require a 54 percent reduction in per capita disposal materials. and an 8 percent increase in the recycling rate. This will require significant collaboration among the Mid- It should be noted that combustion rates are likely Hudson counties.