Rumpke Inc. paid the Columbus suburb more than $200,000 a year for newspapers that residents put in their curbside recycling bins.That was before the global economic downturn torpedoed prices for recyclables. Glass bottles, metal cans, cardboard, office paper and plastics are worth a fraction of what recyclers were paid just weeks ago.The value of newspaper was hit particularly hard, dropping from $95 a ton in September to $5 a ton last week. A ton of cardboard, which used to fetch $105, now is worth $22.50.”This is the steepest one-month drop in prices we’ve seen,” said David Schwendeman, Rumpke’s recycling marketing manager.
As recyclers cut staff members and search for new buyers, officials worry that more recyclable materials might end up in landfills. Catherine Armstrong, Upper Arlington’s finance director, said the city might have to renegotiate its garbage contract if prices don’t rebound.”The recycling revenue helps offset the (contract’s) cost,” Armstrong said.The city’s garbage hauler, Inland Service Corp., will be paid $2 million next year to collect trash and recyclables.Americans recycled a record 33.4 percent of their garbage in 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. In 1965, people recycled 6.2 percent of their trash.
Through October, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio collected 10,502 tons of recyclable materials at 200 Franklin County drop-off centers. That puts SWACO on pace to surpass the 10,755 tons collected in 2007.Prices plummeted after the global recession sank orders for recycled goods, particularly from Chinese factories. China was a major buyer, said Ed Skernolis, acting director of the National Recycling Coalition.”When people stop buying things, like televisions, you don’t need as many boxes to put them in, and you don’t have to recycle paper to make those boxes,” Skernolis said. “It’s that simple.”
That has recyclers struggling to make ends meet.
A paper (recycler) needs about $60 to $70 a ton just to handle it,” said Robert Boulanger, publisher of Secondaryfiberpricing.com, which tracks demand for recycled commodities.Schwendeman said Rumpke customers won’t see any changes because the company has several long-term contracts with buyers.Waste Alternatives, a Mount Vernon plastics recycler, stopped using temporary workers, cutting 29 positions from its 50-person work force.”It’s not a jolly business to be in right now,” said Steve Shew, a Waste Alternatives co-owner.
John Remy, a SWACO spokesman, said businesses that once sold waste paper and other materials to recyclers might begin dumping them in the Franklin County landfill.”I would hope that people would continue to recycle because it’s the right thing to do,” Remy said.Skernolis said recyclers have to hold on until the recession ends.”It’s important to sustain what we have,” he said. “This market is going to recover, and we need to be able to satisfy the demand.
Office Depot announced sales of environmentally preferable products in its catalog of green products increased by more than 10 percent in 2007.The Boca Raton-based company said the increase can be attributed, in part, to a growing interest in green behaviors by small businesses.
Among other findings:
Sixty-nine percent of small business professionals participate in one or more of the following activities: recycling paper, bottles, ink cartridges and/or technology; purchasing Energy Star-rated technology, recycled paper, remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, refillable products and compact fluorescent light bulbs; and printing on both sides of the paper.Eight-five percent claim they are going green to protect the environment or to save money.
Sales from Office Depot’s Green Book rose to $725 million in 2007, up from $660 million in 2006. Office Depot launched the Green Book in 2003.“What these Green Book sales numbers tell us is that our customers appreciate Office Depot’s strategy of providing a wide assortment of green products, and promoting them within innovative sales vehicles,” said Steve Schmidt, executive vice president of Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division.
OAKLAND, Calif. — There has been a steady stream of corporate social responsibility reports published during the last week. Just on Wednesday, three heavyweights — IBM, Office Depot and FedEx — released reports touting new environmental goals and performance. Here are some of the highlights:
– FedEx is working to optimize routes and reduce the amount of fuel used to ships packages. It has cut aircraft-related greenhouse gas emissions 3.7 percent per available ton mile since 2005, and plans to cut aircraft emissions 20 percent per available ton mile by 2020. It also wants to boost fuel efficiency of its vehicle fleet 20 percent.To do some of this, FedEx is turning to more efficient aircraft, such as Boeing 757 planes, which offer 20 percent more capacity while using up to 36 percent less fuel than those currently in use. More than a quarter of its ground fleet has shifted to smaller, more efficient cars.
– IBM, meanwhile, shined in reducing perfluorocompound emissions nearly 32 percent from its semiconductor manufacturing, compared to its goal of cutting emissions 25 percent by 2010, against a 1995 baseline. Its report (PDF) also detailed how it doubled its goal for buying recycled plastics for use in its products, while its water conservation rate of 4.1 percent exceeded its annual target of 2 percent. Savings from energy conservation projects equaled 3.8 percent of total energy use, surpassing its goal of 3.5 percent.Business growth complicated some of its other goals, such as greenhouse gas emissions. It set a second generation goal of reducing emissions associated with its energy use 12 percent between 2005 and 2012 through conservation and renewable energy. Instead, net emissions rose 5 percent between 2006 and 2007. Measured against the 2005 baseline year, emissions grew 2 percent.
– Office Depot included a discussion of materiality in its report (PDF), the result of stakeholder engagement and internal analysis. It determined that the most significant environmental impacts from its North American business operations are paper and product sourcing, distribution and running its 1,200 stores. It began aggregating environmental performance indicators in 2007 and aligning them with its goals of buying, being and selling green.It improved the number of green office products for resale by 30 percent but the amount of green products it bought for internal use fell. Meanwhile, contract sales of environmentally preferred items in its 2007 Green Book grew by more than 10 percent.The amount of waste recycled by the company grew to 49 percent in the U.S., compared to 37 percent in 2006. In Europe, the company recycled 71 percent of its waste in 2007, rather than sending it to landfills. It also cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. transportation by 9.6 percent.
The folks at West MacDonnell National Park in Australia had a brilliant idea for a new bike path connecting Alice Springs and Simpsons Gap. They made it out of junked ink cartridges. The material can last far longer than timber, and is a great way to reuse plastics. Plus, it looks great, and all for a fraction of the cost.Red Ferret pointed us to a news article in the Centralian Advocate, which reports that the 17km path and a new viewing platform were completed for just $130,000 thanks to the use of recycled materials. Because this material will last so much longer than wood, it will save the park a lot of money in the long run.
Parks and Wildlife Minister Karl Hampton stated, “Every year more than 120,000 people visit the magnificent West MacDonnell National Park, and by investing in our parks we are able to ensure visitors have a unique experience while we protect our environment… In keeping with our government’s commitment to sustainable development, the bridge is made from recycled plastic decking or Replas, saving landfill, trees and ensuring a longer life with less maintenance. Alice Springs has a great bike culture and with the upgrades complete, residents can enjoy a short ride after school or work or longer weekend explorations, while tourists can get to know and enjoy the natural environment around the town.”We’ve also seen ink cartridges used as “eLumber” from Lexmark, which processes collected ink cartridges into materials perfect for building decks and landscaping. And we can’t help but notice that they make lovely lamps:
For centuries, mankind has debated whether there’s such a thing as reincarnation. But while we may never know the answer when it comes to living beings, we do know that more and more empty printer ink cartridges are being cleaned, inspected, refilled, and reincarnated as remanufactured ink cartridges. These recycled cartridges help reduce solid waste, and they’re more affordable than they were when they were new. But it’s not the big printer and ink OEMs like HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark that make and sell remanufactured cartridges – it’s independent companies that undercut the high-priced OEM ink and toner cartridges. That’s why it’s newsworthy that a notable OEM like Dell has partnered with green branding and marketing firm NextLife to offer NextLife remanufactured ink cartridges. According to NextLife, these cartridges “have a 30% lower carbon footprint than newly manufactured cartridges” with a “higher percentage of recycled content than competitors: 43% – 62% is reclaimed materials.” In addition, NextLife ink cartridge packaging features “50% post-consumer waste and is 100% recyclable.”
What’s interesting to me is that Dell is selling remanufactured ink cartridges for HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark printers, but not for Dell printers. It makes sense because the economic outlook is good for remanufactured cartridges, eco-friendliness is in vogue, and Dell is undercutting its competitors without undercutting its own OEM ink cartridges. That said, after a quick glance at some of the NextLife cartridges on the Dell website, the prices don’t seem much lower than their OEM counterparts, and they’re notably higher than remanufactured cartridges from other third party companies. One example is the Lexmark 16 Black Ink Cartridge (10N0016). The OEM version goes for $32.99, while the NextLife version costs $29.99. But if you want to go green and save green, you can get the same basic remanufactured ink cartridge for a lot less from a more established vendor. NextLife claims that its remanufactured cartridges have a higher page yield than the competition, although the reliability of cartridge yield numbers is open to debate.
Personally, I’m interested in seeing how HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark respond to Dell’s new product. HP has been especially vocal in questioning the reliability and print quality of third party remanufactured cartridges, although I suspect that it has more to do with the notably lower prices than any indisputable evidence. My guess is that the four OEMs won’t be as worried about NextLife cartridges because they won’t pose as much of a threat in terms of price. It seems that NextLife will rely more on its green branding, as well as a 21 day money back guarantee. But will the strategy work? In the end, it could all depend on whether NextLife ink can gain the trust of the public over cheaper alternatives without waking the sleeping OEMs.