ECONOMY

WASTE MANAGEMENT SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2014 31GROWING RECYCLINGCHANGES AND CHALLENGESAT OUR RECYCLING FACILITIESWe are committed to investing inand increasing the productivity ofour recycling operations. Significantrecent changes in the larger recyclinglandscape have posed challenges wemust overcome.CARDBOARDWe process a greater number of cardboardboxes from the residential stream due to thegrowth in e-commerce (i.e., mail order).GLASSGlass still makes up the second-largestproportion of recycled material, but itsuse has dropped over the years. Glass isa low- or negative-value material — inmany places, we are charged to recycleit because there is no marketable use forit near our facilities. Also, crushed glassis very abrasive and sharp and thereforehard on our equipment.PLASTICThe amount of plastics in the waste streamhas risen. The type of plastics has evolved aswell, with more mixed and colored plasticsending up in the recycling stream. In addition,plastic containers have been “lightweighted”by manufacturers — for example,plastic water bottles weigh as much as 25%less than they used to weigh. While this hasmany benefits, including reduced shippingcosts and GHG emissions for manufacturers,the greater volume of lighter-weight plasticsin the waste stream means that we have toprocess more bottles to get a ton of material.Since our costs are incurred by the amountof material (volume) that we process,while our revenue is paid on weight, ourcosts per ton of material processedhave increased.METALMetal volumes and values have remainedfairly consistent. Aluminum remainsthe highest value material for recyclingbecause it has many uses (e.g., for cans,electronics and, increasingly, automobiles),and it can be recycled repeatedlywithout diminishing in quality.PAPERPaper consumption and recycling aredown, due in part to a 50% reductionin newspaper readership over the pastdecade. Our MRFs were built to process80% paper and 20% containers. Todaywe are processing 60% paper and40% containers at many facilities, andthis change is inconsistent with ourfacilities’ designs. Of the paper we stillreceive, less of it is the newspaper thatwas once an important component ofour recycling feedstock.