Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Proposal to Improve Recycling Habits in the City of Plano

Best Essays
1984 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Proposal to Improve Recycling Habits in the City of Plano
Proposal to Improve the Recycling System in the City of Plano, Texas

Darcy Dodson
Scientific and Technical Writing: ENV328
Instructor Victoria Schmidt
July 31, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary...……………………………………………………..……………………3
Introduction………………………………………………………..……………………………..4
Problem.……………………………………………..…………………………………4 Solution………………………………..…………..…………………………………. 4 Objectives………….…………………….…………………………………………….4 Background……………………………………………………………………………5 Data Sources………………………………………………………………………….8 Scope and Limitations………………………………………………………………..8
Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………..9
Methods………………………………………………………………………………..9
Scheduling……………………………………………………………………………..9
Materials and Equipment…………………………………………………………….10
Conclusion…...……………………………………….………………………………………10
Glossary………………………………………………..….…………………………………...10
Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………….11
List of Illustrations
Figure 1. Model Recycling Programs – Some Numbers and Descriptions………5
Figure 2. Generation and Recovery of Materials in MSW, 2009………………….7
Figure 3. Example of the Green Continental Curbside 14 Gallon Recycling Bin..9
Executive Summary

Everyday citizens of Plano, Texas are faced with the decision of whether or not to recycle. Without an adequate recycling system in the city, our immediate environment could face serious consequences. Statistics from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show that in 2009, the amount of trash sent to landfills nationwide averaged nearly three pounds daily, per person, in contrast to about one and one-half pounds of materials recycled (Environmental Protection Agency, 9). Recycling should come naturally to every citizen in Plano, Texas if they have proper resources to dispose of recycled materials in order to preserve our environment and to “keep Plano beautiful”.
To improve our recycling system, the city of Plano, Texas needs to provide each household with four separate recycling bins, to encourage better recycling habits and to preserve our environment. The different recycling bins should be labeled as: glass, paper, plastic, and metals.
The proposed changes will cost less than $50 per household and will help improve our environment, decrease the amount of recyclable materials that end up in landfills, and provide each citizen with a sense of satisfaction knowing that they played a part in the beautification of our city. Proven benefits of an effective recycling system are saving landfill space, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, savings in energy costs, and a boost in the economy.

Introduction

Problem
Our recycling habits in the city of Plano, Texas are currently not as effective as they could potentially be if we had a better, more thorough and organized recycling system provided by the city. As a citizen of Plano, I believe we have a responsibility to take care of the environment in which we live. If we do not “keep America beautiful” now, which is a popular motto Plano is using, then our sanitation and trash problem will become too overwhelming, out of control and beyond repair. According to the city of Plano’s Litter Prevention team, Research and experience prove that litter - intentional or unintentional pollution resulting from consumer waste products being carelessly handled or improperly disposed - attracts more litter. A clean community, by contrast, discourages littering and raises local living standards and quality of life (City of Plano, 2009). However, studies have shown with proper recycling systems, the environment and everyone in it will benefit from a greener lifestyle.

Solution
Problems in our environment can be solved by introducing a better recycling program into the everyday lives of Plano, Texas citizens. To increase the amount of trash which is recyclable to be disposed of properly and out the landfills, the city of Plano needs to provide each household with four separate recycling bins: glass, paper, plastic, and metals.
Objectives
The purpose of this proposal is to request a more advanced and organized recycling system from the city of Plano, Texas, to “keep America beautiful”, save landfill space, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save in energy costs, and to boost the economy, by providing the citizens of the community with four separate recycling bins.
Background
Studies have shown that model recycling programs with a more organized recycling system have greatly increased the amount of materials recovered from landfills and has greatly reduced the amounts of recyclable materials ending up in landfills.
Figure 1. Model Recycling Programs – Some Numbers and Descriptions (Environmental Protection Agency, 1999) Record-Setting Program | # Households | % Waste Stream Recovered | Materials Recovered | Collection Strategy | Blossom Hill Estates, San Jose, California | 736 | 65% in one complex | ONP; OCC; OMG; missed paper; glass container; cans; juice and milk cartons; plastic bags, bottles, and jugs; polystyrene packaging; scrap metals; empty aerosol cans, textiles; yard trimmings | Sets of three 96-gallon recycling bins (one for each: newspaper, mixed paper, and other recyclables) | East Orange, New Jersey | 6,236 | 22% | ONP, OMG, phone books, cans; #1 & #2plastics, glass containers | sets of two 90-gallon carts (paperproducts in one; containers in theother), approximately one set per 30households | St. Paul, Minnesota | 27,114 | 23% | ONP, OMG, OCC, phone books, mail,paperboard, glass | clusters of six 90-gallon wheeled carts;at least one cluster for every 100households | San Jose, California | 80,440 | 25% | ONP;OCC; OMG; mixed paper; glasscontainer; cans; juice and milk cartons;plastic bags, bottles, and jugs;polystyrene packaging; scrap metals;empty aerosol cans; textiles; yardtrimmings | one set of three 96-gallon recyclingbins (one for each: newspaper, mixedpaper, and other recyclables) for every25 households |

When these communities designed such model recycling programs (see Figure 1) they considered several tips: 1) Involve residents in program planning and implementation. 2) Provide waste reduction education and information to new residents when they first move into units. 3) Make participation simple and convenient. 4) Encourage or reward resident participation. 5) Mandate waste reduction program availability and participation. 6) Keep careful cost and tonnage records in order to recognize true cost savings. 7) Focus on recovering materials with high volume and high value. 8) Provide feedback. Mail residents letters and talk to them. 9) Accept the same materials and use a consistent sorting system for all program participants in your community. 10) Produce educational materials in multiple languages and with simple graphics.
According to the 2010 Census report for Plano, Texas, there were 259,841 residents occupying 76.1 square miles of the city, and there were 95,445 households between 2006 and 2010 (2012). The average person creates 4.34 pounds of waste per day and we only recycle and compost 1.46 pounds of this this trash (Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). Therefore, 2.88 pounds of our trash is going into the landfills, which could potentially be recycled. If 2.88 pounds of trash multiplied by each resident in Plano in 2010; that is a potential amount of 748,342 pounds of extra trash going into our municipal landfill each day, and 273,144,859 pounds each year! That is a lot of trash that could possibly be recycled or composted and made into something else!

Figure 2. Generation and Recovery of Materials in MSW, 2009* (in millions of tons and percent of generation of each material) (Environmental Protection Agency, 2010)

Material | Weight Generated | Weight Recovered | Recovery as % of Generation | Paper and paperboard | 68.43 | 42.50 | 62.1% | Glass | 11.78 | 3.00 | 25.5% | Metals | | | | Steel | 15.62 | 5.23 | 33.5% | Aluminum | 3.40 | .69 | 20.3% | Other nonferrous metals | 1.89 | 1.30 | 68.8% | Total Metals | 20.91 | 7.22 | 34.5% | Plastics | 29.83 | 2.12 | 7.1% | Rubber and leather | 7.49 | 1.07 | 14.3% | Textiles | 12.73 | 1.90 | 14.9% | Wood | 15.84 | 2.23 | 14.1% | Other materials | 4.64 | 1.23 | 25.5% | Other materials in products | 171.86 | 81.27 | 35.7% | Other wastes | | | | Food, others | 34.29 | .85 | 2.5% | Yard trimmings | 33.20 | 19.90 | 59.9% | Miscellaneous inorganic wastes | 3.82 | Negligible | Negligible | Total other wastes | 71.31 | 20.76 | 29.1% | Total MSW | 242.96 | 82.02 | 33.8% |

“Significant amounts of material from each category were recycled or composted in 2009. The highest recovery rates were achieved in paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, and metals. We recycled more than 60 percent of the paper and paperboard we generated. About 20 million tons of yard trimmings were composted, representing about a five-fold increase since 1990. Recycling these organic materials alone kept 26 percent of MSW out of landfills” (Environmental Protection Agency, 2010).
According to figure 2, out of 242.96% of the waste that was generated, only 82.02% was recovered from the landfill. Therefore, only 33.8% was recovered. This means that there is much room for improvement in the recovery of MSW from our municipal landfill.
Data Sources
The data sources used to create this proposal came from online sources: such as government websites and Ashford University’s online periodical database library.
Scope and Limitations
In order to improve the recycling system for the city of Plano, Texas, we must act with speed and precision. Each citizen must do their part and take sole responsibility for disposing of their trash correctly. If proper education is granted to each citizen about the improvement project on how to properly dispose of their trash, then our landfills and environmental will surely benefit! But this must all happen very soon before our environment and landfills are beyond repair.

Discussion

Methods
According the 2010 Census Report for Plano, Texas, there were 103,672 households within the city of Plano. Each household will receive four Green Continental Curbside 14 Gallon Recycling Bins. Each bin will be labeled with a different material: glass, paper, plastic, or metals. Waste generated of such materials should be properly disposed of in their correct bin. This recycled wasted will be picked up by the city of Plano’s Sanitation Department and taken to their respectable places to be recycled into a product.
Figure 3. Example of the Green Continental Curbside 14 Gallon Recycling Bin (The Webstraunt Store, 2012) Scheduling
The city of Plano will continue its regularly scheduled pick up times and days for all recyclable materials.

Materials and Equipment
The city of Plano can purchase the Green Continental Curbside 14 Gallon Recycling Bin from any company that sells recycling bins. Although, after searching for the best prices, this particularly recycling bin was found at the Webstrauntstore.com for $11.43 each. If four of these bins were purchased for each household, the city will have spent less than $50 per household, and a total of $4,739.883.84.
The city will need to adjust their fully automated trucks so that they will pick up these new and different kinds of bins. The cost of maintenance on the trucks will need to be determined.

Conclusion
If the city of Plano, Texas does not improve its recycling program, future of our immediate environment could face serious consequences. We could face higher energy costs, high greenhouse gas emissions, no change in the economy, and we could risk overfilling our landfill space. This proposal is a suggestion for a positive way to involve the members of our community in improving the way we recycle and the future of our environment. The current citizens will be helping themselves and the future citizens of Plano, TX.

Glossary
ONP = newspaper OMG = magazines and catalogs
OCC = corrugated cardboard MSW = Municipal Solid Waste

Works Cited

City of Plano. 2009. Litter Prevention. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Environmental%20Services/GreenLiving/LitterPrevention/Pages/default.aspx. U.S. Department of Commerce, United States Census Bureau. 2012, June 6. State and Country QuickFacts. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/4858016.html.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. October 1999. Complex Recycling Issues. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/downloads/f99022.pdf.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. December 2011. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf.
Smith-Worthington, D., Jefferson, S. 2008. Technical Writing for Success, 3rd Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
The Webstraunt Store. 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.webstaurantstore.com/green-continental-5914-2-curbside-14-gallon-recycling-bin/27459142%20%20%20%20GN.html?utm_source=NexTag&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=NexTag+Campaign.

Cited: City of Plano. 2009. Litter Prevention. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Environmental%20Services/GreenLiving/LitterPrevention/Pages/default.aspx. U.S. Department of Commerce, United States Census Bureau. 2012, June 6. State and Country QuickFacts. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/4858016.html. United States Environmental Protection Agency. October 1999. Complex Recycling Issues. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/downloads/f99022.pdf. United States Environmental Protection Agency. December 2011. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf. Smith-Worthington, D., Jefferson, S. 2008. Technical Writing for Success, 3rd Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. The Webstraunt Store. 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012 from, http://www.webstaurantstore.com/green-continental-5914-2-curbside-14-gallon-recycling-bin/27459142%20%20%20%20GN.html?utm_source=NexTag&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=NexTag+Campaign.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 2003 the city of Seattle adopted a recycling mandate as a part of their “Zero Waste Resolution”.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Landfill

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As urbanization progresses, the disposal of trash has become an enormous problem to America and the world. Although there has been progress in decreasing the amount of waste by limited recycling and reuse, most trash is still thrown away to fill landfill sites. To list just a few staggering facts, every year, 13.4 million tons of food waste, 28 billion bottles, 36 billion aluminum cans, and 200 million tons of garbage are landfilled in America each year 1. As trash is piling up, environmental concerns rise because of landfills’ large production of leachate and landfill gas.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Recycling is one clear response households have taken to combat this. But the issue is much more complex than the presumed problem of landfills and the feel good solution of separating your plastics from metals.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recycling has been a well known idea for so many years, but now we need it more than ever. Now in the world there are so many problems with the environment like Global Warming, toxic waste, and not to mention not recycling is very costly but recycling reduces the landfill space, helps conserves natural resources, and reduces the production of greenhouse gases . When you recycle you also help save animals so the rims of a six pack of soda doesn’t end up blocking a fish's gills or a plastic bag getting eaten by a turtle and having it choke on the bag. Recycling can also be a group effort where you get a group of people from your community, school, church, job, or just you and your friends so not only your saving the environment but your having fun with people you know while doing it.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Trash, garbage, junk, debris-all alternatively known as litter-scattered across the 268,597 square miles of Texas on our highways and landscapes. Where former First Lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson aspired to see bright and colorful wildflower blanketing the great Texas countryside, oftentimes we only see disturbing amounts of garbage. This is what I aim to change. Through my school's Key Club I have had the opportunity to have a positive impacts in reducing the "over 435 million pieces of visible litter" covering "our empire wide and glorious." In the thirty-eight total service hours I have dedicated to both Texas Adopt-A-Highway and school wide recycling the amount of litter that myself and the generous volunteers…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Com/156 Body Paragraphs

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Recycling and waste prevention are two very important ways to help address the issues of the environment concerning climate change. Recycling is a very beneficial factor that more individuals need to exercise in order to improve the environment’s pollution, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and save energy and natural resources that are used to produce products from virgin materials rather than from recycled materials, which uses less energy and produces less harmful pollution. Recycling has many benefits that helps improve the earth’s conditions. Waste prevention and recycling are real ways to address these problems and begin to make a change. Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources, reducing the amount of natural resources needed to produce these same products. Collecting your used bottles, cans, and newspapers and taking them to a recycling bin or collection facility is just the first step, in a series of steps that generates a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. These benefits accrue locally as well as globally. Recycling protects and expands United States manufacturing jobs and increases United States competitiveness by creating more recycling jobs and facilities within the United States and producing more of our own products with recycled materials and being less dependent on outside countries and companies for these products. Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In todays world it is common knowledge of the issues with recycling and pollution. However, there is a way to help slow down the process of over-running our earth. A new initiative is being spoken about, three trash cans for each method of recycling:compost, paper and plastic, and landfill. Other ways include recycling centers, projects for turning your no longer useable items into recycled treasures. I firmly believe in adopting and putting these into practice in our United States with only minor changes. We only have one earth so we have to take care of it.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Americans are very aware of the importance of “going green” as it reduces pollution and protects the earth from global warming. Going green generally includes recycling, buying environmentally-friendly products, energy efficient electronics, and living off the land. However, the reality is there are many obstacles to going green; the primary of which is cost effectiveness (Outka, 2012). The United States is currently in an economic crisis, and most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay their bills. Therefore, when faced with having to purchase an expensive item such as an appliance or automobile it is difficult to look beyond the price tag at the going green investment. While most citizens believe they are making a difference by recycling, the truth is a large percentage of our curbside recycling is either burned or sent to landfills because it has been contaminated due to ineffective recycling procedures, or it ends up traveling long distances, which increases the cost and air pollution (Kaiser, 2010). All of these facts prove that going green is not cost effective because the products are expensive and it take time (sometimes years) to see a savings or value, curb side recycling is wasteful, and recycling cost a substantial amount more than trash disposal.…

    • 1366 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, Pellow reinforces the concept that governmental policies can directly damage groups of people or a certain race by pointing out the ironic conditions that take place in recycling industries. Pellow states that “solid waste is a fact of life” (1). Humans as a species tend to aggregate, making the disposal of waste a complicated issue. Disposal practices lead to divided political opinions and negative environmental impacts, such as pollution. And, although all humans contribute to producing waste, not all humans share the burden of managing this garbage. For instance, Pellow observed the social and economic conditions taking place under a recycling center located within Chicago. The foundation behind the idea of recycling is to foster the concern for environmental respect. Therefore, a recycling center should be a place where people are aware of their actions and what the resulting consequences may be. However, many environmental problems and social inequalities arose within the community of Chicago.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first step is to collect recyclables at a drop off center within the complex. The center should be located near the trash dumpster so residents can make one trip with all their waste. The drop off center should be able to hold the most common household recyclables: plastic, cardboard, and newspaper. Second, we need to recognize the barriers to participation and how to successfully promote residents to accept recycling behaviors. We can design brochures with information about how recycling can benefit the environment. Residents should be informed of the recycling process, the cost benefits, and the reduction of waste in our…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHICS AND RECYCLING Abstract Research was conducted to determine if recycling participation is affected based on where an individual lives and/or where they grew up. Many psychological and sociological studies have looked into the human behavior of recycling; what drives an individual to recycle and what are the key components to a successful recycling program. Results have shown that people with access to a structured recycling program have much higher levels of recycling than do people lacking such access. Furthermore, individual attitudes toward the environment affect recycling behavior only in the community with easy access to a structured recycling program.…

    • 2604 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Recycling is a method that appeared as a solution for the problems that environmentalists were having with landfill’s capacity and contamination of garbage around 1980’s. According to Christopher Douglass (2003), dramatic predictions of landfill closings created a crisis mentality in America. He also informs that the in 1988 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported to Congress that “one-third of all landfills in the United States would close by 1994 and that by 2008 nearly 80 percent of landfills would be shut down” (Douglass, 2003). The situation that the EPA presented to the Congress in 1988 seemed to be disastrous; but fortunately those predictions were all wrong. The problem with these predictions was that the government and environmentalists turned on red lights in order to solve this issue in a positive way that could help the planet’s environment. As a result, state and local…

    • 3039 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recycling

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The population of the world continues to increase dramatically, further pushing the need for our world to adopt resource conservation as a way of life. Between 1950 and 2010, the U.S. population nearly doubled (conner) Recycling efforts must focus on water, energy, paper, metal, aluminum cans, glass, plastic, Styrofoam, steel, junk mail, garbage, tires, and even food.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trash Talk

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Porter’s strategy for saving landfill space begins with public recognition, cooperative efforts, and adopting new attitudes towards recycling. He is asking us all to involve are self by adopting systems and working with state governments. He calls for every individual to involve themselves with industry and local government regulations.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Waste Management

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Summaries of Related Solid Waste Incineration Rules. 10 June 2002. 26 June 2005.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays