The Future Of Recycling
By Ing. Carlos E. Pacheco Irizarry
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Many of us have heard that recycling is essential to waste-management, environment conservation and overall sustainability of humans and nature but has anybody shared the idea that recycling should be a community and entrepreneurial activity and not only the responsibility of governmental entities? Ing. Carlos Enrique Pacheco founder of Tais suggests that cities and countries should understand the possibility and opportunity of creating economic development of this “problem” we call recycling.
An unsolvable problem?
Recycling is a huge issue in most countries and Puerto Rico is no exception. Puerto Rico like many other countries depends on selling materials to Asian markets which demand purity of 99.5% of the materials which is a very hard standard to reach so materials end up in incineration, processing plants or landfills.
Recycling in Puerto Rico
For decades, Puerto Rico has only done conventional recycling (plastics, carton, paper, metals, aluminum) and it barely reaches a 9.6% of detouring those materials from landfills. We like to use the word detour because recycling really is just converting waste in a new object without the utilization of recently extracted natural resources. This process is done outside of Puerto Rican shores and betting on a utopian recovery of 100% of these conventional materials would hardly reach 35% of the mass of solid waste generated. We need a new model urgently given the limited capacity of our landfills and the closure of Asian recycling markets.
A new recycling model
Governments should facilitate and incentivize the vision of recycling as a community and entrepreneurial driven activity. Businesses have to take responsibility for the impact of their waste and its proper management. Communities should support and participate in recycling programs, to develop organizations aimed at the collection, management and material conversion. We are wasting opportunities to create jobs, substitute imports and generate more economic activity that in the long term will contribute more to the government's budgets than any grant or subsidy that a government could provide.
Here are 10 initiatives that help manage our wastes, extend landfills lives and prevent the introduction of incinerators:
Onboard an effective program of recycling organics: Puerto Rico, as a tropical island, is a perfect spot to promote composting. The model should focus on the decentralization of composting and on the integration of food waste to the mass of vegetative materials. If we can get each town, neighborhood, and community member to incorporate an efficient and hygienic composting system in their household recycling rates will increase immediately. The use of paying for disposal (we prefer to call it saving for recycling) by selling bags makes more sense if the organics are separated. Recovery of cooking oils should be part of this program and would be a step in the right direction in living in a post-oil society. Thinking of and adopting new ways of acquiring energy via the breaking down of organics using microorganisms, using a process called pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion would help diversify our energy sources. Organics after all contribute to 35% of the total mass of solid waste, so executing this initiative will offset the percentage losses from conventional recycling and help us achieve a post-oil society.
Mini Recycling centers: Unlike the mini-transfer stations that are aimed at conventional recycling, the Mini Centers Recycling (MCR) would have the ability to collect and handle the following materials: vegetative, construction debris, metals, appliances, glass and tires. These facilities must be located one (1) in each municipality, on farms of eight to 10 acres and close to urban areas. These facilities must be operated by non-governmental companies. Its function would be to collect and prepare the materials to be transformed into raw material for recycling plants, for example: the grinding of vegetatives for compost plants, the processing of materials for construction aggregates, the separation of metals for transport to processing plants, home appliance repair, glass processing for artisan masonry, and tire dismemberment for easy transportation. The success of this project is based on: (i) shortening distances, gaining accessibility and facilitating transshipment, (ii) creating a climate of cooperation between processors, (iii) the distribution of common costs, and (iv) creating a network of contractor support responding to MCR calls, like in the case of home appliances repair.
Use of compostables - Legislation should be passed to encourage industries, restaurants and shops to use compostable containers and utensils. These guarantee a decomposition rate similar to the inputs of a compost bin. This is accomplished without leaving any trace of contamination in the final product. Importantly, compostable and biodegradable are not equivalent. Biodegradable ones have the inconvenience of a slower decomposition that leaves pollutants not suitable for further use of the compost. Fast food restaurants are suitable candidates for this type of container and the public must support the businesses that responsibly use them.
Creation of recyloponic movements - Recycloponics is the activity of fermenting food waste using efficient organisms to facilitate handling and collection and then compost them together with vegetative material. The creation of gardens operated by community-based organizations would allow for the orderly, participatory and efficient collection of food waste in the creation of crops fertilized with enriched compost. Agroecological crops are sold at a discount to program participants. This organic recycling model allows the development of a circular economy, where communities begin to take responsibility for managing the waste they have, generating new jobs, advancing food sovereignty, expanding the consumption of healthy products, and improving the health of communities. Recyclopony provides educational opportunities to achieve resilience based on a high level of social and environmental awareness.
Total elimination of water bottles: 20 years ago they were barely visible. Today, the soft drink industry sells more bottled water than soft drinks. Absurdly, people pay more for bottled water than for gasoline, for the same volume. Recycling these bottles requires that the lid and label be separated so that they have something of value as a clean, exportable recyclable material. During Hurricane Maria, it was the item in greatest demand and the most problematic in its handling. It is important that communities are part of creating alternatives so that this is not repeated. We must encourage the proliferation of stainless steel heat bottles, the installation of water sources that deliver pathogen-free, filtered water in workplaces and other public places and ensuring the proper disinfection of this equipment.
Creation of plastic recycling micro-industries - The use of plastic shredding processes and their conversion into articles is very possible today. (See Precious Plastics). The government should encourage initiatives that make it possible to locally convert recycled plastic into a new product. The decentralization of this type of activity would allow micro-companies to process the recycled plastic and make it a marketable asset. Plastic artisans could be a new profession that would allow substituting imported products.
The creation of substitutes for plastic and expanded polystyrene - During the past decade, the use of mycelium, which is the vegetative part of fungi as a substitute for materials derived from oil, has boomed due to the accumulation of plastic waste on the planet. Currently, this new industry has extraordinary potential when we combine carbonic waste together with other recyclable materials in the creation of raw materials that can range from packaging, furniture, to structures. (see: "Fungus the plastic of the future").
Bulk sales stimulus - This activity is a response to the need to boost the local economy to create new jobs and replace imports. The reuse of plastic containers recharging them by local mini-companies dedicated to making liquid soaps, conditioners, natural oils and cereals, must come from the communities themselves and local entrepreneurship. The customer refills the container without the cost of advertising, packaging and storage.
Payment for glass recovery - We don't want the bottles to fill the landfills. I am sure that some wholesalers, concerned about the problem of climate change, will not find it difficult to participate in the creation of a program that we call glass masonry, which would involve creating an industry based on the capture, color segregation, crushing and packaging of raw material for artisan masonry. We want to see shining pavements, mosaics in the squares, building walls that reflect the entrepreneurial, innovative and responsible spirit of the municipalities that recycle. The promotion of a glass crafts school would place our country with a solution that can attract tourists and would put the Island at the forefront of creative glass management.
Banning organics in landfills - The possibility of closing 11 landfills (38% of the total) is a real threat. Organic materials, with 75% humidity, activates the generation of methane gas. This is a gas 26 times more oxidizing than CO2 that escapes into the atmosphere contributing to climate change. The possibility of lengthening the final closure of landfills by self-imposing a ban on organics in landfills would make this possible.
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It is very worrisome that this waste-management crisis comes in the middle of an environment filled with economic uncertainty and the vulnerability of many. These ideas can be executed and would create jobs while tending to the climate crisis that would cause the closure of landfills in many cities and countries. I would invite you to learn more about new models of recycling and make daily actions toward creating economic development of this problem. Are you concerned about recycling? Is composting stressful? Share any ideas or questions you have on this topic and learn more about Tais and their programs for recycling organics in Puerto Rico.
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Es muy preocupante que esta crisis de manejo de residuos se produzca en medio de un entorno lleno de incertidumbre económica y la vulnerabilidad de muchos. Estas ideas se pueden ejecutar y crearían puestos de trabajo mientras se atiende la crisis climática que provocaría el cierre de los vertederos en muchas ciudades y países. Los invito a conocer más sobre los nuevos modelos de reciclaje y realizar acciones diarias para generar desarrollo económico de esta problemática. ¿Te preocupa el reciclaje? ¿El compostaje es estresante? Comparte cualquier idea o pregunta que tengas sobre este tema y conoce más sobre Tais y sus programas para el reciclaje de orgánicos en Puerto Rico.
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Ing. Carlos E Pacheco Irizarry a Licensed civil engineer with 50 years of experience in environmental engineering and the President and CTO of Tais a Puerto Rican company that empowers environmental action through organic recycling and support for local, circular and regenerative agriculture.
A version of this article was published in Corriente Verde in August 2019