Recycling & Compost Collection
Why Recycle?
Recycling is good for the economy and the environment. The benefits of recycling can be found at every stage of the consumer product life cycle—from the mining of raw materials to final disposal. Some of the benefits include:
- Conservation of natural resources
- Reduction in energy and fuel required to extract and process “virgin”, or primary, raw materials to manufacture new products
- Reduction of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, used to transport and process raw materials
- Creation of jobs to sort and process recyclable materials
- Development of “greener” technologies
- Reduction of the cost of waste disposal in landfills and incinerators
Available Resources
Event planners that want to collect materials for recycling and composting to reduce their impact on the environment have several resources available in the City of San José to help accomplish this goal.
Collection of recyclables and compostables involves more than just setting out a container for specific materials. It also involves the following tasks:
- Identify staff to collect and remove full bags of material from attendee areas
- Arrange for a place to store collected materials at the event
- Make arrangements for materials to be removed and processed after an event
An overview of available resources and some corresponding tips and guidelines are provided here for reference. Our Zero Waste Event Team is also available to answer questions and assist events that are implementing recycling and/or compost collection programs.
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Material/Hauler Service Providers
Events that generate recycling, compost, and waste in San José must make arrangements for materials to be safely stored and removed from the event. In San José, only franchised haulers, or service providers, can provide material collection service for businesses and events. Event teams may also collect and “self-haul” materials to a permitted CA Redemption Center, composting facility or landfill.
When selecting a hauler or service provider, it is important to find out:
- What materials will be accepted for recycling, compost, and/or waste
- What level of contamination is acceptable (i.e., the amount of non-recyclable material allowed in the recycling bin)
- What size or type of debris bins (dumpsters) are available
- What time the debris bins can be delivered and what time they can be picked up
- Fees for hauler services
List of franchised haulers
The City of San José has a partnership with the San Jose Conservation Corps to provide recycling services for a limited number of events that occur on City property.
If your event is on City property and you would like to request free recycling services using the Conservation Corps, please contact our Zero Waste Event Team at least two weeks prior to the event. Services will be provided to events on a first come, first serve basis. The San Jose Conservation Corps is a franchised hauler and specializes in collection of recycling at events.
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Eco-Station Loan
The Eco-Station Loan program is available to any event located in San José to increase access to recycling and compost collection at events. An eco-station, or resource recovery station, is a color-coded collection system that replaces the use of single trash cans at an event as shown in the below pictures (blue for glass, metal, and plastic recycling; green for compostable materials; and black for trash). Eco-stations come with corresponding color-coded signs, lids and bags.
Eco-stations are available for borrow and return and are available on a first come, first serve basis. Events are responsible for the transportation of the stations to/from the event and a City storage area and for the cleaning of stations at the end of the event. All equipment must be returned in the same manner in which it is received. In addition, authorized event representatives must sign an Eco-Station Loan Form accepting full financial responsibility for lost and/or damaged supplies.
If you would like to reserve eco-stations for your event, please complete the One-Stop Shop online form at least two weeks prior to your event.
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Site Diagram Example
A site diagram showing eco-station and dumpster locations is a great tool to help event organizers plan and implement their material management plan, and produce an efficient, environmentally-friendly, and enjoyable event. A site diagram is a bird’s eye view of an event site as if you were looking down at it from above. It is a detailed drawing depicting the proposed layout of the event site, including the location of booths, stages, eating areas, portable toilets, waste, recycling, and compost stations (eco-stations), dumpsters, and other event items. Dimensions should be included for each event item and/or the drawing should be drawn to scale as close as possible in order to accurately show the size and location of each event item placed on-site (e.g., one quarter-inch on the plan represents 30 feet on the ground). Please note that events applying to receive funding through the Green Event Grant must submit a site diagram.
Blank Site Maps have been prepared by the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) for your reference and use. The maps can be downloaded and edited for submission with your grant application.
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Guidelines for Eco-Station Set-Up
While the idea for setting up eco-stations may seem simple enough, there are still many things, such as collection bin order and placement of signage that should be considered before putting the first eco-station on the event grounds. We have consolidated all of these considerations into a single, easy to read document.
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Signs for Eco-Stations
An eco-station would not be complete without appropriate signs to let attendees know what materials go into each container. The following signs reflect materials accepted for recycling and composting within the City of San José, and are available for use at events held in the City. Please feel free to print and use these signs or contact the Zero Waste Team to borrow laminated versions of these signs at your event.
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Preventing Contamination
Events that collect materials for composting need to make sure these materials do not include contaminants, or rather, materials that cannot be composted, like plastic utensils, candy wrappers, expanded polystyrene, etc. If the compost collected has too many contaminants, it may be refused by the processor and go straight to the landfill instead.
Since most event attendees are not familiar with the concept of composting, an event may need to take some additional steps to ensure the compost is “clean” of non-compostable materials. Using signs will help, but that is not enough to prevent contamination. Here are some suggestions to help reduce contamination of compostable and recyclable materials:
- Use eco-station monitors to help attendees get materials in the right container
- Have staff or volunteers sort materials at eco-stations to remove contamination
- Hire professional sorters to check materials at the debris bins to remove contaminants from compostables and recover compostables and recyclables incorrectly disposed of as trash
- Have materials sorted at a permitted materials recovery facility
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Attendee Instructions
It is always helpful to let attendees know what to do with their materials before they get to an eco-station. The text below is provided for use in event program books and event websites, to help attendees know what to expect before getting to an event.
- Recycle: Place all plastic bottles and cups, aluminum cans, and glass in the blue lid container for recycling
- Compost: Place all left over food, plates, napkins, utensils, and paper in the green lid container for composting (only if the utensils are made from plant starch!)
- Trash: Place any items that are not shown on the recycle or compost posters in the trash (expanded polystyrene, diapers, candy wrappers, juice boxes, etc.)
- Please Don’t Litter: Protect the beauty of our City and our creeks by using the eco-stations (recycling, compost, and trash containers) provided
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How to Measure Success
When materials are collected for recycling and composting, it is important to quantify the amounts collected so an event’s diversion rate can be calculated. The diversion rate refers to the percentage of total materials that did not go to the landfill. For example, if an event collects a total of two tons of materials, and one ton was recycled, the event has a 50% diversion rate.
There are two main ways to measure event diversion: by weight or by volume.
By Weight
Weights can be easily captured for events that request separate debris bins (dumpsters) and service for their material collection needs. When the hauler or service provider removes the debris bins and delivers them to a processor or landfill, the materials will be weighed and the hauler will be given a “weight tag” showing the weight of each material bin received. Because haulers handle a lot of weight tags, it is helpful to remind haulers both one week before and one week after the event that weight tags are required.
An event can also weigh bagged materials before they are placed into shared facility debris bins or work with the venue chef and staff to estimate material weights per attendee (when it is not possible to obtain separate debris bins for an event).
The chart below is an example of a Material Diversion Report generated by using weight tag information. By dividing the total weights of materials collected for recycling and composting (5.94 tons) by the total materials generated (6.92 tons), we can calculate the diversion rate for the event: 85.84%.
Sample Material Diversion Report
Tapestry Arts Festival 2008 |
Weight |
Solid Waste |
0.98 |
Solid Waste Total |
0.98 |
Recyclables/Compostables |
|
OCC |
0.45 |
Compost |
3.49 |
Charcoal |
0.42 |
Cans/bottles |
1.58 |
Total Recyclables / Compostables |
5.94 |
Total Generation |
6.92 |
Diversion % |
85.84% |
By Volume
Events that use existing debris bins (dumpsters) at a venue for collected materials instead of requesting separate debris bins specifically for their event may not be able to get weights on the materials generated at the event. For example, if two events are happening in the same venue and both events put their materials in the same debris bin, neither event would know how much of the materials came from their event. It can be difficult to get material weights when materials are collected in front loader debris bins that get combined with materials from other locations in a route truck as well.
When there are coinciding events sharing debris bins, events can still measure the success of their recycling and compost collection program by measuring materials, visually, by volume. Here are some tips to get an accurate measurement of diversion success by volume:
- Take before and after pictures of the inside of the debris bin(s) to visually capture how much of each material was generated at the event
- Keep a count/tally of the number of bags for each material collected
- Recycling - # of full bags/containers
- Compost - # of full bags/containers
- Trash - # of full bags/containers
- Estimate volumes in relation to debris bin size
- The venue has a 4-yard debris bin for compost
- The 4-yard debris bin is half full before your event (e.g. it already contains 2 yards of material)
- The 4-yard debris bin is full after your event and no other venue or event materials were deposited in the container
- Therefore, the event generated 2 yards of compostable materials
Visual Examples
Quarter full 20-yard trash bin = 5 yards trash
Almost full 20-yard cardboard bin = 18 yards recyclable cardboard
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