Disposing of Sweeping Debris Environmentally... And More
by Ranger Kidwell-Ross, editor
Although we offer several additional articles, our first-ever Special Report issue emphasizes the environmental and cost-effective disposal of sweeping debris. Properly managing sweeping debris from parking lots, streets and highways is increasingly important for a number of reasons. Pollution is increasing while, at the same time, it costs more to dump in landfills – which are also running out of space.
If you follow the Best Management Practices (BMP) we discuss about disposing of sweepings, in many locales the result will be to both save money and help the environment. The most important, readily available, BMP is screening debris before disposing of it. Screening debris means separating materials based on their size, what they're made of and other important qualities.
Screening is a smart way to get several benefits. Doing so helps find and take out items that may be able to be recycled, like plastics, glass and metals. These recyclable materials can sometimes then go to recycling centers instead of being dumped in landfills. This not only saves money on disposal but also helps the environment by reducing the overall impact of waste.
Even when the larger litter is not recyclable, screening debris has economic advantages. Separating out litter-type materials means municipalities and contractors alike can save money by disposing of them separate from the smaller-micron sifted dirt component. In many cases, the sifted material may even be disposed of at zero cost as daily landfill cover.
Some states also allow use of the material in road building and for other usages. Screening of sweepings makes the whole process more affordable and sustainable in the long run. In many jurisdictions, screening material picked up by sweepers can significantly reduce disposal costs.
Using debris screening also fits in with bigger goals for sustainability. Many places now realize how important it is to use eco-friendly practices in waste management. Screening debris is a practical step toward reaching these goals while also showing your commitment to reducing the environmental impact of waste disposal.
In summary, screening debris before throwing it away is a crucial Best Management Practice in today's world of increasing pollution and high landfill costs. This smart approach not only saves money but also helps the environment by encouraging recycling, preventing possible contamination and supporting broader goals for sustainability. As more places deal with waste management challenges, using debris screening is a responsible and proactive way to address both the environmental and economic aspects of this complex issue.
As always, if you have questions and/or any news of potential interest to the power sweeping community, please let us know. Between this publication, the WorldSweeper.com website, and the World Sweeping Association, we'll be sure to get the information passed along to interested readers.
Executive Director, World Sweeping Association
Member, PAVEMENT Hall of Fame
PS If you're a contractor I urge you to check out the many benefits of membership in the World Sweeping Association. Also, if you haven't 'liked' our WorldSweeper Facebook page, what are you waiting for? That's where we offer a variety of industry previews and updates on an ongoing basis.
January Newsletter Contents
(Scroll down to read stories or click on links below.)
- NPE and PaveX Competing Tradeshows Square Off
- "Alternate Ticket Cameras Needed:" NYC Commissioner
- WSA Membership Offers Extraordinary Value to Contractors
- Special Report on Disposal of Sweeping Debris
- Carbotura Zerofill System Offers 100% Municipal Waste Reuse/Repurposing System
- EZ Screens Make Innovative American Screening Products
- CDE: Offering Screening and "Wet Processing Solutions"
NPE and PaveX Competing Tradeshows Square Off
For years the National Pavement Expo (NPE) was operated by the same folks that bring you PAVEMENT Magazine, now part of IronMarkets. A few years ago the NPE was sold to an organization called Emerald Productions, which has continued operation of the event.
However, this year IronMarkets is introducing a new expo called "PAVE/X." In developing the show, PAVE/X management says they also "lured away some of the associations, leaders and influencers" in the pavement industry.
The PAVE/X Show is being held January 30th to February 1st in San Antonio, TX. The dates – which fall during the weekdays – are a departure from the traditional NPE weekend-centric events. This year's NPE is being held from January 23rd through 25th in Tampa, Florida, at the Tampa Convention Center.
We know from discussions with various sweeping industry vendors that the presence of the two different shows has created some amount of questioning about which show will produce the best outcome for their tradeshow advertising dollars. Ditto for contractors trying to decide which to attend, or both. Time will decide whether both tradeshows can survive in serving the pavement maintenance marketplace.
"Alternate Ticket Cameras Needed:" NYC Commissioner
New York's street sweepers should have cameras to ticket car owners who flout the city's alternate-side parking rules, Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said recently.
"The sanitation department's street sweepers can each remove 1,500 pounds of road garbage a day," Tisch said at a recent Citizens Budget Commission event. But she said the sweepers "can't do their jobs as well as they should" because so many cars block their paths. Tisch said she wants the state's vehicle traffic law, which governs the use of cameras for traffic enforcement and fines, to be amended to allow street sweepers to be equipped with cameras that automatically issue tickets to cars that violate alternate-side parking rules.
See more about the NYC Commissioner's suggestion.
WSA Membership Offers Extraordinary Value to Contractors
In place of our typical "Not Exactly Sweeping" feature in many of our newsletter editions, this month we substitute "YES: Exactly Sweeping!" to inform our readers about the many benefits of the World Sweeping Association. For any sweeping contractor, there's no way to go wrong with membership in WSA.
This month marks the 12th year of operation of WorldSweeper's affiliation with the award-winning World Sweeping Association. Membership is $385/year for all sweeping contractors and year-to-year renewal has historically exceeded over 90%, an unprecedented rate.
Membership benefits include over 25 discounts, including on parts with several sweeper manufacturers. Only WSA members have listings in WorldSweeper's highly used Contractor Locator. Members also receive exclusive access to over 250 targeted articles and more than 100 interviews with successful contractors. Plus, if you want an experienced contractor as a mentor, now you can!
On the 1st and the 15th of each month members receive via email a WSA Member Update written by WorldSweeper's editor, Ranger Kidwell-Ross, who also serves as Executive Director of WSA. All 11 previous years of these are also available to new members. If you're a sweeping contractor and want to improve your professionalism – and discover ways to increase your bottom line – WSA membership is for you.
Check out WSA's Membership Benefits, see even more details or sign up here with a complete satisfaction guarantee.
Our editor first brought the power sweeping industry information about alternatives to standard dumping of debris in 1992 with this article entitled "Screening Power Sweeper Debris – Good for the Environment and a Real Moneysaver." Although obviously dated in terms of cost for standard dumping and, thus, money saved, the information is largely correct in the fact that screening can reduce landfill dumping weight by around 80%.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency outlines management options for reuse of street sweepings. We covered the Agency's Hazardous Waste Division Fact Sheet in another previous article. In that article, the Minnesota Agency covered their requirements for disposal of sweepings. A review of current requirements found little-to-no changes from our article.
Another earlier article was entitled "Aggressive Recycling of Municipal Street Sweepings." The article relates how the City of Portland, Oregon, conducted its sweeping operation to recycle everything it could. At the time of the interview, the City of Portland – by screening its debris – had trimmed its "former $5000/day in dump fees down to about $800 a week."
Screening was also a central topic in our coverage of the 2006 National Pavement Expo, during a time when many dumpster haulers first began refusing to pick up dumpsters containing sweepings. Some haulers even began a policy of doubling the price of dumpsters containing sweepings! You will find the article to contain a good overview on the topic of using a screening system to reduce the cost of disposal.
Finally, another of WorldSweeper's previous articles discussed how the City of Hinesville, GA, developed a screening program that removed its unscreened street sweeping waste stream from the landfill. They took that action as part of an effort to comply with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's mandated a 25% reduction in landfill loadings.
Below we bring you current information about three organizations dedicated to reducing landfill waste. WorldSweeper did not receive revenue from any of them as a requirement for their being listed here. If your organization is still just landfilling all of your sweeping debris, WorldSweeper recommends you investigate those and other alternatives that might exist to lower your overall cost of operations while, at the same time, reducing the burden on landfills.
Carbotura Zerofill System Offers 100% Municipal Waste Reuse/Repurposing System
Carbotura management claims its Zerofill service model is technologically sound. The process removes waste from the ecosystem by breaking it all down, no matter what source it comes from, into molecules small enough they can be recombined and repurposed into sustainable use materials. There is, the company states "no more need to bury, toss, burn, treat or ship trash anywhere. With few exceptions, everything can now be fully recycled. This is what is really meant by a circular economy.
"The Carbotura Zerofill system boasts 100% diversion from landfills using any waste (except for radioactive) and no sorting needed. Other features include atmospheric carbon capture and no waste combustion needed. There is also no need for water or electrical hookups."
Carbotura was recently chosen as a pioneering urban pilot program by AcceliGOV, a Smart Cities initiative whose aim is to propel cities and communities toward enhanced sustainability and resiliency. Through them, municipalities and private companies are invited to apply for this and other pilot offerings designed to tackle distinct urban development challenges.
Find out the details on Carbotura. Or, click here to learn more about the AcceliGOV program.
EZ Screens are an Innovative American Screening Solution
Back in 1996 Al Skoropa, a veteran employee of Michigan CAT, became interested in the recycling and composting efforts that were then first gaining popularity. He built a prototype for what became his EZ-Screen 1000 and, due to the success of the design, has never looked back.
Since then, the parent company of EZ-Screen that he founded, Argus Industrial Co., has become one of the leading builders of industrial vibrating and trommel screening equipment. EZ-Screen offers models suitable for a wide range of industries – including for minimizing the disposal cost of parking area and street sweeper waste. His goal, says Skoropa, is to "provide the highest quality, job-proven screeners at the lowest possible prices, backed by the best warranty in the business."
Check out the EZ-Screen organization or, click here to see the EZ-Screen 1000XL, probably the company's best option for screening of sweepings.
CDE: Offering Screening and "Wet Processing Solutions"
CDE has a 30-year track record in processing a wide range of materials within the natural processing and waste recycling sectors. The company's website says it currently has "imaginative wet processing systems with over 2,000 successful projects installed around the world." Products include screening systems suitable for sweeper waste.
The company claims a mission of "creating our best world, a ton at a time" along with empowering its customers to transform waste into valuable resources – i.e.,laying the foundations for the circular economy. CDE's headquarters are located in Northern Ireland and the company has offices in the US, Australia, Austria, Brazil and India.
Find out the details on CDE.