Annual Report Summary - (Printer Friendly Version)

This section of the annual report presents the methods in which your agency informed both employees and customers served that a recycling program was being implemented. Below are identified the programs you reported were continued or implemented during 2006.

This section of the annual report presents your compliance with the State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign (SABRC). The activities identified below were reported as implemented or continued during 2006. (Note: Completing this section does not meet the SABRC reporting requirements (PCC Section 12162(b)).

The original Integrated Waste Management Plan did not forecast the additional waste stream generated from demolition of the old Caltrans Headquarters office building at 120 South Spring Street in Los Angeles, starting in 2004. The waste stream of some of those materials diverted and disposed in landfills, from demolition of the old office building, as well as the normal course of construction and maintenance activities on new and existing highway facilities, skewed the reporting figures upward for the years 2004 and 2005. The average overall diversion rate for the last three years (2003-05) was 95.9 percent. The diversion rate for reporting year 2006, at 77.3 percent, has decreased because it includes only the waste stream generated from the normal course of construction and maintenance activities on new and existing highway facilities, as well as operation of the various office buildings. Construction and demolition (C&D) debris disposed in landfills for 2006 was 66,229 tons, which was an approximately 4,000 percent increase over the prior year reportable waste stream. This was because the reportable number of construction projects, required in the construction and demolition waste category under AB 75, increased from 18 to 103. The waste stream from future construction and demolition debris should not deviate significantly.

The waste stream figures for 2006 includes additional tenants in the Headquarters office building, as a result of the closure of several Caltrans satellite offices, as well as the occupation of two floors (of thirteen floors) by the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation. The 2005 overall diversion rate of 99.0 percent would have suggested that diversion efficiency within the district recycling program had probably reached its peak, and continuing diversion improvements have leveled off. However, the 2006 overall diversion rate represents a more realistic representation of waste streams from all sources within the district. The projected waste streams generated from the operation of the district office building, maintenance yards, survey offices, equipment shop, and construction offices should also remain consistent because of the successful diversion programs that have been put into place which are continuing, with more comprehensive reporting, better capture methodology, and increased district participation and awareness.

The diversion programs that were in place in 2003 through 2005 were continued in 2006 with more effective capture methodologies in place and through increased employee awareness. At all the district facilities, waste diversion programs include the placement of recycle bins for white paper, toner cartridges, printer cartridges and mixed paper for each office. The collected white and mixed paper is then processed at Angeles Western Paper Fibers, Inc. This activity results in a net positive operating result for the district. Toner, copier, and printer cartridges are recycled through Ecotoner, Inc. The retirement of obsolete office furniture, computer equipment, and copier machines which are then donated to recycling companies, school districts, and charitable organizations continues to be a high priority for Caltrans. The retrieval and recycling of metal debris from freeways and its infrastructures by Caltrans maintenance staff continue to be very efficient. This activity is a revenue generator for the State through a contract with Mid City Iron and Metal, which is managed by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). Construction and demolition waste is constantly being generated from construction and maintenance projects. This material and debris varies depending on the type of project. Recyclable material can include asphalt concrete, Portland cement concrete, metal beam guardrail, and landscape vegetation including wood. Caltrans has made significant progress towards “Greening the Fleet” by purchasing trucks, sweepers, and other equipment which use low sulfur diesel fuel.

The methodology used to determine tonnage for the materials disposed and diverted were determined by a variety of reference sources and analytical methods. Many items have a product identification tag, which contains the manufacturer information including serial number and weight. For materials within the district office, the documentation was achieved by reviewing the invoices, receipts, or shipping documents from the independent vendors who supply the goods or service. In cases where this is not feasible, estimates are used by extrapolating the size and weight of products or items, and this number is then multiplied by the number of items observed or counted. Contractors/haulers typically supply weight tickets for the salvage metal, or construction and demolition debris that they haul, typically expressed in cubic feet or cubic yards, which is then converted into estimated tonnage. For materials that are disposed in commercial refuse bins, the bin size typically holds a maximum weight at full capacity, depending on the material being disposed. Full bin capacity, or increments of maximum capacity, can be ascertained by visual inspection. The number of items of a certain type or size of product, each of which has an individual weight can be readily determined by multiplying the individual item weight by the estimated number of items. The weight of some items was referenced by looking up the item on the internet via the manufacturer website. Also used was the Caltrans Maintenance Manual, Volume One, Appendix One, June 1998 Edition for conversions of volumes to weight. Finally, the CIWMB has published a “Weight Conversion Source and Table”, which provides a data table for weight conversions of common items, or to convert volumes to weight.

BUSINESS SOURCE REDUCTION PROGRAM:

The District implements a paper form reduction scheme by the use of online forms, manuals, bulletin boards, electronic media, and emails to reduce the need to print flyers, handouts, and multiple copies of reports. Reusable inter department delivery envelopes, as well as reusing shipping boxes in the mail room also contributed to the annual estimated paper use reduction of 2 tons (Extrapolation)for 2006. The District has placed recycling bins on every floor for each office unit for the purpose of collecting toner, laser, and inkjet cartridges which are then re-manufactured by our current vendor, Ecotoner Inc. Toner, laser, and inkjet printer cartridge diversion for 2006 was 1.55 tons (Vendor Receipts).

MATERIAL EXCHANGE:

Material Exchange for 2006 came in many different forms. Surplus office fixtures and equipment were captured using the property survey reports process and was then reported through the Department of General Services State surplus program. Diversions in 2006 included donations to local agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations, which allowed Caltrans District 7 to donate computer equipment, furniture, cabinetry, and other miscellaneous equipment. The total amount diverted for this important category is 1.53 tons (Property Survey Reports).

RECYCLING PROGRAM:

The District collected and recycled 15.61 tons (Vendor Receipts)of cardboard boxes used as packaging for various shipments of supplies and furniture. Of this, the District reported one-half of the tonnage diverted, 7.81 tons (Vendor Receipts), since we share diversion credits with DGS, the custodial agency for the building. Total mixed paper recycling amounted to 6.13 tons (Vendor Receipts)for 2006, which amounted to 3.06 tons diversion credit for Caltrans. White paper diversion amounted to 27.14 tons (Vendor Receipts).

ORGANIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM:

The Caltrans Maintenance Division has responsibility for maintenance of the freeways and its infrastructures. As a consequence of landscape maintenance activities, a tremendous amount of vegetation and organic debris is generated. Caltrans Landscape Maintenance reported 922 tons (Internal Report)of on-site composting and mulching. Self-haul green waste is organic waste taken to a special composting location for diversion, when it is not practical or feasible to do on-site composting and mulching. This amounted to 324 tons for 2006 (Internal Report).

SPECIAL WASTE MATERIALS:

Caltrans uses a tremendous number of tires in its large and small trucks, automobiles, sweepers, loaders, graders, backhoes, and other fleet vehicles. Combined tire tonnage captured from all sources in 2006 is 71.44 tons (Internal Report). Mid City Iron and Metal is the CIWMB designated contractor to recycle metal from the Caltrans Maintenance Yards. Southland Disposal Company also recorded 1.6 tons (Vendor Receipt)of salvageable metal. The combined amount of scrap metal diverted from all sources was 749.6 tons (Vendor Receipts). Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is constantly generated from construction projects. Almost 80 percent of this C&D waste was diverted from 103 projects (SWDRR-CEM 4401), which resulted in a combined C&D waste diversion of 223,387 tons (SWDRR-CEM 4401).

HAZARDOUS WASTE MATERIALS:

Surplus items and equipment was captured by the district property controller using property survey reports and then was reported through the Department of General Services state surplus program. Computers (monitors, CPU’s etc.), televisions, printers, VCR’s, cell phones, telephones, radios, and microwave ovens are classified as hazardous waste and are not counted in the diversion figures. Electronic waste from all sources came to 20.74 tons for 2006 (Property Survey Reports). In addition, another source of hazardous waste materials comes from the operation of the Caltrans fleet vehicle program where batteries from all sources came to 10.20 tons (Internal Report), used oil/antifreeze came to 20.67 tons (Internal Report), and all other hazardous waste came to 58.25 tons (Internal Report).

The District Recycling Coordinator is the main staff resource and has the primary responsibility to report on Caltrans District 7 implementation of its Integrated Waste Management Plan to help meet its waste diversion goals. The District Recycle Coordinator is committed to a comprehensive reporting of recycling efforts from contractors, as well as the education of department staff on the importance of the District Recycling Program. The District intranet homepage has a dedicated webpage to continue the goal of increasing the District`s diversion rate. Other resources provided include funding for purchasing recycling bins for toner and printer cartridges, white and mixed paper bins, as well as battery recycle containers. In the future funds will be sought for activities such as recycling awareness fairs to educate the employee population on the District`s effort to continually achieve its Integrated Waste Management Plan.