Put wood waste into economy, not the landfill

Sarah Grimm
The Register-Guard
September 2, 2007

While the world searches for alternative energy sources, communities and urban centers are still struggling with the steady increase of garbage generation. Researchers and institutions are working fast and furious to develop new technologies in wave energy, cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen and more. But let's not forget the simple step of maximizing our available resources and other tried-and-true solutions.

One example is the recovery of wood waste. In Lane County, 100,000 tons of wood waste is available. In spite of an annual recovery of more than 58,000 tons of wood waste, data from waste composition studies indicate that we are still dumping more than 39,000 tons of wood into our landfills. At 15 percent, wood waste is the fourth largest component of our waste stream after paper, food and other organics.

While wood waste does help to generate energy, through the Eugene People's Utility District's methane generators at the Short Mountain Landfill, diverting wood from the landfill so it can contribute to the local economy is a more efficient and sustainable way to make use of its energy potential. The Lane County Public Works Waste Management Division is dedicated to maximizing the recovery of materials for better and more sustainable use in the community - not only because it extends the life of Short Mountain Landfill, and not only because Oregon lawmakers long ago charged local solid waste managers with the responsibility of giving reduce, reuse and recycling priority over landfill dumping, but because it serves the interests of the community to keep materials flowing through the economy instead of into the landfill.

If we compare the two possible paths of wood waste from the Central Receiving Station in Glenwood, we can clearly see the community benefits of recovery. When wood goes into the pit (an estimated 14,000 tons in 2006), heavy equipment is first used to manipulate, compact and load the material for transport to the landfill. At the landfill, several dozers and compactors are used to place and compact materials for final interment. The cost of all that manipulation and transportation, not to mention the cost of the infrastructure, is only compensated by the small amount of energy generated by EPUD's methane generation program.

On the other hand, when wood waste is placed in the wood waste boxes that we haul to Lane Forest Products (500 tons in 2006), it is ground up and either sold and transported as a fuel for large factories and mills, or as a manufacturing feedstock for local paper mills and particle board manufacturing plants. The cost of this transportation path is compensated by production of goods and services and renewable fuel for Oregon businesses.

One path feeds the landfill, the other path feeds the economy.

This fall, the Glenwood Central Receiving Station facility will make some changes that we hope will increase the amount of wood recovered. First, the receiving station will be expanding the list of items accepted in the wood recovery bins. Instead of "dimensional lumber only," guidelines for wood recovery will be "everything that is all wood except items with creosote, Formica and metal fixtures bigger than your finger."

So, "yes" to particle board, wooden chairs and boards with nails. But "no" to foam-core doors and railroad ties.

In addition, we will be encouraging residential customers to sort wood into the recovery boxes before dumping their load by giving them the reduced wood rate for the whole load if they take that extra step. Another big improvement will be that the receiving station will no longer require the self-haul residential customers with construction and demolition loads to go over the scales on the commercial side. Since the wood recovery boxes are more convenient to residential dumpers than to commercial dumpers, this is anticipated to maximize the likelihood that all the wood waste - estimated at more than 5,000 tons - from residential customers will be recovered.

These changes apply only to the Glenwood Central Receiving Station. The Cottage Grove and Florence transfer sites also accept wood waste, but because of equipment limitations, acceptance guidelines are not quite as broad as those mentioned above. Lane County citizens, businesses and local governments can be proud of the great strides in reducing, reusing and recycling that currently takes place in our area. And all of it contributes to Oregon's energy independence. Through conservation, alternatives and renewables, recycling and waste prevention efforts offer a perfect bridge from the here-and-now to the future of wave, hydrogen and other as yet undeveloped energy sources.

Sarah Grimm is a waste reduction specialist with the Lane County Public Works Waste Management Division.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/09/02/printable/ol.recycling.0902.IFWR65SZ.phtml?section=oregonlife