Assessing solid waste recycling opportunities for closed campuses

Purpose - The commercial and residential refuse generated by Ellsworth Air Force Base, USA was characterized and analyzed for collection procedures, and the opportunities for increasing the amount of solid waste that could be recycled were evaluated. Design/methodology/approach - Random loads of hauled solid waste (an average 3.0 US tons/load) from different waste streams of Ellsworth Air Force Base were sorted. The weight fraction of each category of recyclable material derived from the hand sorting operations was applied to the three years of mixed waste tonnage in order to estimate the tonnage of each recyclable category disposed of as refuse during each year. The assessment of the data obtained from three full calendar years focused on the mixed solid waste generated from commercial and residential areas such as offices, childcare, lodging, supermarkets, food service facilities, and others. Findings - Over 2,500 tones of recycling opportunities were missed during the 1999-2001 calendar years. The characterizations of the total weight produced from commercial and residential waste streams showed that recyclable material constituted 35.95 percent and 23.27 percent of refuse from the commercial and the residential areas, respectively. The amounts of total recyclable material as missed opportunities for recycling were found to be 1,728 tons and 715 tons from the commercial and residential areas. Practical implications - In response to the findings, Ellsworth Air Force Base has implemented a number of strategies for increased recovery of recyclables from its solid waste streams. Originality/value - Quantifying missed opportunities for recycling is a useful action in planning future recycling operations aimed at best solid waste management practices.