Recycling

Fall 2022 Hunting Valley
Recycling Update

Dear Residents

As the fall air grows cooler and changing leaves paint the valley, we thought the timing was perfect to recap our recycling progress, answer questions and share updated aids for your recycling efforts.

To begin, we completed another Shredding Day in September by

collecting 2,750 pounds of material, a 37% increase over last

year. More than 20 residents participated. Village Hall also

extensively uses Shredding Day for the police, building

department and other administration. Next year, we hope to see

even more residents participate, as it is a very professional and

helpful free service.

In addition, the paper dumpster continues to be an important component of our recycling efforts. The dumpster is located in the service area, across from the garage, and is very easy to find. For 2022, usage is up 16%, and since the inception of the program, the dumpster has collected paper equivalent to 159 trees.

Second, the website update is underway thanks to Sherri Gambrill and Maddy Mavec. We need to complete the recycling section to include both videos and photos from our “deep dive” event, links to other sites, as well as important recycling information, news and special projects.

Third, we held a recycling “deep dive” at

Village Hall in July to learn new best

practices. Residents Jim Hickey, Maddy

Mavec, Ellen Resnick, Bobbi Pincus, Teri

Koslen and Harry Hawkes as well as Kris

Tesor and Judy Neuger (Moreland Hills)

were joined by Vince Crawford (Waste

Management) to analyze recycling from 10

residents. We sorted the recycling by

material types with a pile for contamination.

Overall, based on the sample, we appear to be doing a very good job with contamination … Per Vince Crawford “The overall message to the community is very positive, I wish more of our communities were as good as Hunting Valley for lowering contamination.” The focus for recycling is on weight so getting the big heavy items correct is most important. “For the sample inspected, less than 10% was contaminated, especially when recognizing a lot of the cardboard is being collected via the paper dumpster.” The industry average is about 25%.

But we can’t let one sample temper our attempts to be even better. We learned many new best practices based on a better understanding of the recycling process (that uses conveyors supported by automated and human sorting) and the underlying economics for recycled products that has dynamic, highly fluctuating pricing, is market specific (e.g., Midwest) and is based on clean recycling streams of products. Please see the following pages and attached handout for details. In addition, when you go to village hall for voting, you will find excellent recycling information from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District (CCSWD). If you are unable to make that day, please contact Sherri for the materials.

Lessons Learned from Recycling Deep Dive

No plastic bags, flimsy plastic and tin foil
No hoses, Xmas lights, ropes etc. that tangle equipment
Keep recycling clean and dry
Eliminate broken glass
Keep small items out
Scrap metal goes to HV service center
Best to not recycle items with multiple types of materials
Some items have reached the end of their useful life
Focus on items out of the kitchen, not garage or garden
Continue to educate yourself and family
Reuse is better than recycling

Fourth, in response to our survey last fall, many residents requested that recycling be collected weekly … “we have a family of 4 and our bin is full in a week” and “our household creates more recycling than garbage some weeks.” We appreciate the challenge and recommend a few strategies. First, the committee has come to the realization that “the more we know, the less we put into curbside recycling.” Many of us were recycling the wrong items, sometimes the wrong way, and that reviewing the educational material with all family members and using the CCSWD website may decrease your volume. Also, many residents use the paper dumpster for cardboard, which quickly fills up totes. Lastly, if you still have too much recycling, Don can provide an extra dumpster for a nominal charge.

In response to other comments, If you do not have recycling stickers on your recycling totes, please contact Don and he will give you a new one! One resident recommended we investigate using a waste-to-energy plant that combusts waste to create energy for the power grid. Per CCSWD, for Ohio, the closest facility is operated by Covanta in Indianapolis Indiana, a distance too far to truck. Building a plant is very expensive and requires passing many regulatory hurdles. Also, we have low-cost landfill in Ohio, so the business case is weak. If still interested, we recommend residents contact state officials and the local EPA office. Lastly, another resident suggested we provide more options for recycling at Village Hall. Currently, our program is extensive and one of the best, but we agree the usage should be higher. The Moreland Hills Greening the Hills event has been very successful. For 2 days a year, they provide collection services for what we typically collect all year at the service department. We are considering that type of event to increase our volumes. We all benefit from a deadline!

As always, if you have any questions or recommendations, please contact one of the committee members or Harry Hawkes @ 216-533-0820 or hhawkesjr@gmail.com.

Thank you again for your continued support and please find ways to recycle even more!!

Sanjay Gandhi, Jim Hickey, Teri Koslen, Madelaine Mavec, Bobbi Pincus, Ellen Resnik, Sherri Gambrill, Don Cunningham and Harry Hawkes

Lessons learned from Recycling Deep Dive