Where are we supposed to put all this friggen' trash!?

The piles of brush and bulky in our neighborhood got me thinking about where all our trash goes after it is picked up. I have never understood why they pick up the tree branches and other organic materials at the same time as other big junk like broken washing machines, flat tires, and furniture. It all goes into the Los Reales landfill. 

The Los Reales landfill takes in 2,300 tons of solid waste daily and the city spends roughly $8 million every year to process waste at the site.

A big portion of our trash that ends up in landfills is food waste. The US EPA estimates that more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash, constituting 24% of the amount landfilled and 22% of the amount incinerated. When food waste ends up in landfills, it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2. 

How can we keep that food waste out of our landfill?  In addition to cutting down our food waste,  I'd like to see the city offer a separate bin for food scraps so it can be composted for community and neighborhood gardens. I have a "lazy compost pile" myself.  And my neighbors' food scraps don't go to the landfill either - because they give them to me! 

Is there anything else we can do to cut down on the trash going into the landfill?  One of the first solutions people think of is recycling. After all... recycling materials takes less energy than mining materials and producing new products. But all those products we consume contribute to climate change -  even before it gets to the landfill. According to Sustainable Tucson's Zero Waste Lead, Kevin Green:

The US EPA published a landmark report in 2009 that found 42% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. are associated with the energy used to produce, process, transport, and dispose of the goods we use and food we eat. This includes the extraction or harvesting of materials and food. The report indicates that 29% of GHGs result from goods produced within the US, while food production contributes 13% of the GHGs.

So consuming less trash in the first place is really the way to go. That's why many people are moving towards a "zero waste" lifestyle where you follow the 6 R's of Sustainability: Rethink/Refuse, Reduce, Reuse/Repair, Repurpose, Recycle, and Rot (compost).

“Zero Waste: The Conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of all products, packaging, and materials without burning them and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”

And there are other problems with recycling.  For one, you need a buyer for those materials. ReCommunity Recycling Center no longer recycles glass because it doesn't have a buyer. I was shocked to find that they were throwing glass bottles into the landfill because it cost the city 3 million dollars a year to store it. Hearing his constituents' dismay, our Council Member Steve Kozachik championed a project to crush glass to make into cement and sandbags. Now we have glass drop-off sites all over town.  

But there were other problems with our recycling program - namely contamination. That means putting gross things in our recycling like dirty takeout containers or even soiled diapers. It was so bad that we nearly lost our recycling program because China would no longer accept our dirty trash! But we haven't totally learned our lesson. We still put things that aren't recyclable in our recycling bin - like Styrofoam and plastic bags. (Plastic bags jam up the recycling machine.) Currently, the city only recycles #1 and #2 plastics. 

Since so many of his constituents were frustrated about how much plastic ends up in the landfill, our pragmatic city council member came up with another innovative solution - making plastic blocks out of much of the plastic that can't be recycled, including plastic bags! He is currently conducting a pilot program to demonstrate to the Mayor and Council that the public will support the idea.  He's asking his constituents to drop off the plastic that couldn't be recycled at the Ward 6 office. (See the list below.)    

I have mixed feelings about this - because of the reasons I mentioned above.  If you're already living a zero waste lifestyle, no doubt you will be making few or no trips to the Ward 6 office to drop off your plastic scraps. Keep up the good work. But in the current consumer culture, many of us have found it impossible to be be entirely zero waste. We are doing our best to reduce waste by toting refillable water bottles, recycled glass jars, reusable grocery, bulk and produce bags.  But there are still products that we can't get in bulk or plastic free, like mushrooms wrapped in plastic and a lot of organic produce. What the heck?!!! Until our community can make the paradigm shift we need, Steve K's plastic block project is a good start.  

I do have one suggestion though. Instead of using EVEN MORE PLASTIC by putting it in the plastic bags Steve provides in his starter kits, please put it in one of the many plastic bags that we can't help getting.  

This is a cereal bag that I'm putting in a bigger bag we got with a delivery. Don't judge. 

Here's a message from Steve: 

Ward 6 Wants Your Non-Recyclable Plastic Trash

From now until the end of the year Council Member Kozachik and the Ward 6 Office are hosting a pilot program in which we are collecting non-recyclable plastics and turning them into construction-grade building blocks. All those plastic materials you cannot place in the blue bin are right now ending up in the landfill. We want them. And we’ve got free plastic bags for you to collect them in before dropping them off at the ward office.

We’ll be handing out free clear plastic bags along with informational material describing the pilot project we’re hosting. Bring us bubble wrap, plastic drink cups, lids and straws, candy bags, single use plastic bags, 6-pack holders, plastic food trays – bring it all. Working with our partners in this program – ByFusion, Tank’s Green Stuff and the City of Tucson Environmental Services – we'll turn that waste into reusable products you’ll soon see in building projects around the city.

The Ward 6 Office is located at 3202 E. 1st Street. Stop by and grab your Starter Kit and join us in being a part of this waste reduction/reuse program. Nobody else in the state of Arizona is doing this, so your involvement is a part of Tucson residents leading the state by example – once again! Thanks to Reyna Preciado from KGUN for stopping by the ward office and covering the story. Here’s a link to her piece.

Councilman Steve Kozachik is collecting rerecyclable plastic - KGUN 9

https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/councilman-steve-kozachik-reusing-plastic-for-local-projects

Recently ByFusion was highlighted in national media through CNN (See link below.)  You can see their operation in action and hear the background on how this whole idea got started. You’ll see that our pilot is a part of cutting-edge stuff that only a handful of jurisdictions are currently doing. We don’t mind leading by example – and we love it that so many of you are on board.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/03/business/byfusion-waste-plastic-blocks/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/07/26/recycle-plastic-waste-building-block-byfusion-orig.cnn-business

In the video, you see them building various structures with the blocks. I’ve shared this image before – it's the seat bench we built out in San Gabriel neighborhood. The seat is made from Anita Goodrich’s crushed glass (also spawned in the ward 6 garage) and the blocks are the one’s we’re now collecting plastic for. If you want to see the San Gabriel bench it’s in their pocket park located at Irving and Santa Barbara. When you go by, don’t worry about it looking kind of lonely in that location. We are working with Tucson Clean & Beautiful on a landscape design for the area. Planting is scheduled for this fall.

Here’s the graphic showing what we can use. 

"On Sunday, I did a little dumpster diving in our Plastics Only bin – I was removing Styrofoam someone had thrown in. NO STYROFOAM. It is not plastic and constitutes contamination in this process. It belongs in the trash."

 

MORE INFORMATION

Tucson councilman collecting plastic trash for construction projects

https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-councilman-collecting-plastic-trash-for-construction-projects/article_67e9c5ea-0c6c-11ed-9807-4f7d1a2869df.html

What you can recycle: 

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/es/recycle

Download Recycling Coach

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/es/recycle-coach

Glass drop off sites:

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/es/announcement/glass-reuse-plan

Plastic block program could stick - Arizona Daily Star, 01/08/2023

 https://arizonadailystar-az.newsmemory.com/?publink=5917ba4db_134aa00

Steve K Champions Plan to Use Glass that Would Have Ended Up in Our Landfills

While attending a Mayor and City Council meeting in support of green infrastructure funding, I caught the tail end of their discussion on what to do about our threatened recycling program. Apparently, the city is losing $3 million dollars a year. They discussed ways to save money. One way was to cut down pickups to twice a month. (That change has already been implemented.) They also discussed the high cost of storing glass bottles until they can find a buyer. It was suggested that they throw that glass in the landfill!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I couldn't help but blurt out, "No! Find a use for it!" Not exactly council meeting decorum, I know. But there has got to be a purpose for that glass! In Mexico they used to melt down glass bottles to make glassware. A local artist uses colored glass to decorate her cement candle holders. Since we are running out of sand, couldn't we use glass to replace it in cement structures?

When arriving at the Ward 6 Office for our monthly Sustainable Tucson meeting, my husband pointed out the new sidewalk made out of cement with sand from crushed glass!

When I mentioned the sidewalk to our Council Member Steve Kozachik, he gave me an impromptu demonstration of the glass crusher he had used to make the sand for the cement. He insisted that I try it myself. It was pretty fun.

crushing bottles with labels on them

Steve said that even the cement workers who put in the sidewalk thought it was a crazy idea to use sharp glass.  But any concerns were eased when Steve let me feel for myself how soft and fine the glass sand is.

One of the things I love about Steve K is how responsive he is to his constituents. As much as I'd like to think that my outburst inspired Steve, it was really Val Little who approached him with the idea of using the glass to make sand. She had seen it done in other countries during her travels abroad. Steve got right on it. He surfed the web and found a glass crusher for $6,000 then got the go-ahead from city manager Mike Ortega, who agreed to purchase it for a “pilot program.” 

When I asked Steve why he took on this project, he explained, "We're losing over $3M annually in our recycling program. We have to devise some creative new ways to do the whole reduce/reuse/recycle thing. This is just demonstrating that to city staff."

He told Arizona Daily Star, “What I’m doing back in the garage is really, really (low) retail scale to show the environmental services people that you can scale this up and we can do this on a commercial level. We can create our own secondary market and maybe even make a few bucks."  The sand will be used for monsoon sand bags/mortar mix/filling alley potholes/cover at the landfill/trench lining...anything sand is used for.

I was grateful to have a place to bring the kombucha bottles that were piling up on my back porch. I coudn't bring myself to throw them in the trash when they would just end up in the landfill.  So I brought a few with me when I went to the Sustainable Tucson meeting at Ward 6. 

If you were wondering why the Ward 6 garage smells like a brewery, it is because Steve first approached bars on 4th Avenue to supply him with bottles. He is currently arranging for more drop-off locations around town. In the meantime, you can drop them off in the blue bins in the back parking lot of the Ward 6 office anytime you're in the neighborhood or attending a meeting there. No need to take off the labels, but please help Steve out by removing the plastic and metal lids and dumping out any liquid beforehand.  

What's next? Steve has the city setting up multiple drop off sites around town, buying a commercial scale crusher, and letting Republic Services know that we're not doing business as usual in the recycle world any longer.

So drop by the Ward 6 office anytime with your glass bottles and to thank Steve K! 

The Ward 6 Office is located at 3202 E 1st St, Tucson, AZ (behind the Walgreens on Speedway across from the Loft Cinema.) 

UPDATE: Congrats Steve! The plan worked! On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the City of Tucson Mayor and Council voted to remove glass from the residential and commercial blue barrel program and start reusing it. Glass is no longer be accepted in the blue bins, but instead collected at drop-off sites across the city.

Here's a link to the Glass Reuse Plan with details and drop off spots in Tucson. 

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/es/announcement/glass-reuse-plan

City Council, Stop allowing City Maintenance to poison Tucson UPDATED

It's no secret my fondness for edible weeds or my complete disdain for Round Up. I hung a sign in the alleyway, "No Poison, Please. Edible Weeds Grow Here." I've done my best to educate the poor, misguided landscapers and maintenance workers who spray Round Up on every little weed and even baby palm trees. (Won't kill 'em anyway...) Sometimes I'm more successful than others. At a recent city council meeting, a woman took advantage of the public hearing period to urge the council to stop weeds from coming up this monsoon season by spraying pre-emergent herbicide all over town. Right then and there I decided to use my time to speak up about it. But Mayor Rothschild, in his great wisdom, had me speak on my other issue instead. That was just the nudge I needed to share my concerns with him and all the city council members in great detail... including links. lol

Feel free to write your Council Member too!

Dear Mayor Jonathon Rothschild and City Council Members:

I've been meaning to speak up at a city council meeting about the transportation department's overuse of herbicides for some time. After my mom got a severe headache from breathing in the Round Up sprayed in a right of way on our street, I spoke to the landscaper about it. He replied, “The city sprays it everywhere, so can we.”

Following the city's example.

Since then I have been very aware of herbicides sprayed on city property. The other day I was stunned to see an entire lot covered with it. Recently I walked by the County Public Service Center building. In the catchment basins - that should be an example of the best water-harvesting practices - there were turquoise patches of weed killer. Right where the rainwater sinks in to restore our aquifer! Even the Pima Department of Environmental Quality's G.I. hand books states that herbicides can sink into our ground water. I brought this up to the Pima Department of Environmental Quality just to be told that was the work of the city maintenance department.

I took this picture to show bad water-harvesting instalation - a native tree planted in the deepest part of basin.
But my camera inadvertently caught the herbicide right by the drain.

I am writing today because I was disturbed by a comment I heard at last night’s meeting. A woman from the “landscape advisory committee” suggested that monsoon season was upon us so the city should spray pre-emergent weed killer everywhere to keep the weeds from coming up.

I have several problems with that. First, it won’t keep the weeds from coming up. We have used so much that the weeds have grown resistant to it, so we need more and more to kill any. Weeds will come up after the monsoon rains anyway. By spraying them with herbicide before the monsoon rains, the poison will just run into our yards, playgrounds and those catchment basins (that are meant to sink the water into our ground water). The post-emergent herbicide, glyphosate, has been proven to cause cancer: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer/. However, there are also concerns about preemergent herbicides. It was once thought that herbicide contamination would be mitigated through filtration, but the active ingredients have been found in our ground water: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/groundwater-contaminants.html.

In response to a comment on facebook:  Yes, Roundup is a postemergent herbicide sprayed on weeds and grasses that have already sprouted. That has nothing to do with preemergent herbicides that are intended to keep weeds from sprouting in the first place. Observing the practice of landscapers and maintenance people around town, they frequently are misapplying Roundup as a preemergent. But preemergent herbicides have a number of issues. One is that any one chemical is only effective on a small subset of weeds, so multiple herbicides have to be sprayed to kill all of the "undesirable weeds." They also just don't work on some of the most noxious invasives, like buffel grass. The other problem is that the application period is very specific in order to kill the seeds when they are germinating. Not all landscapers are going to apply them at the right time to have any effect. Plus, they need to be watered after application to sink the chemicals into the soil. How many right of way sprayings are being watered immediately afterwards. They also shouldn't be used in a landscape with organic mulches because they will bind to the organic mulch and affect the growth of desirable plants. And, of course, just like the postemergents, they also contaminate the soil and the groundwater. Diuron, one of the pre-emergent herbicides recommended for use by the Arizona Department of Transportation has been shown to be toxic to birds, wildlife, and aquatic life and - even worse - one of the biproducts of the breakdown of diuron in the environment is the production of an even more toxic chemical, which stays in the soil and can contaminate groundwater. The European Union has banned its use, but of course it's still being recommended for use in the US.*

I have done my own monitoring on the effectiveness of herbicides on weeds. Every day, I walk by that house where the landscapers insist on spraying every little weed (and sometimes the whole yard) with industrial strength Round Up. I’ve observed that the herbicide works temporarily on the tiniest weeds, but even more weeds pop up by the next month – which get sprayed too. So it’s a never ending cycle of toxic weed killers in our neighborhood. Just wait a week or so for the weeds to die in the desert sun! Herbicides have no effect on Bermuda grass (which would take a bulldozer to get out the whole root system) or the bigger weeds.

We actually moved native grass into our catchment basin to help with erosion and sink in the rain.

We need to rethink what we consider acceptable desert landscaping. The plastic and gravel we use to keep weeds out of the yard also keeps rainwater from sinking in to restore our ground water. Many so-called weeds are planted in road side basins to help the water sink into the ground and prevent erosion. The native grass works with the mulch to create a sponge to soak in the monsoon rains.

We need to reconsider what we call “weeds.” Many Tucsonans glean amaranth and purslane (in Spanish, Verdolagas), my personal favorite. I’ve heard of preschool teachers taking their students on neighborhood walks and having them taste edible weeds. We certainly don’t want to poison children foraging at our neighborhood parks!

Purslane and amaranth I harvested from our alleyway buffet. Yum!

Please, look into the effect of herbicides on the public health and the cost of repeated use. Then ask the maintenance department to stop spraying that ineffective weed killer all over town.

Thank you,
Jana Segal
Sustainable Tucson Core Team

*Updated response added after e-mail to Mayor and City Council. 


UPDATE (April 2, 2019) Steve K wrote: "We'll see the draft on our Integrated Pest Mgmt program probably April 23rd study session. We're not banning Roundup, but what I've proposed is an inverted triangle in which the organic methods are broadly used first, and chemicals only as the last resort."