By S. Alison Chabonais

During advertising blitzes, Lee County Recycling Coordinator Collin Davis gets as many as 10 calls a week from Southwest Florida businesses inspired to recycle because they know that reducing waste is the right thing to do for our community.

"Sooner or later, most will follow through with a corporate program," says Davis, who estimates that one of three businesses in her bailiwick recycle. "Companies who participate are no longer then only on their block. Now recycling containers are visible on every street.

"Still, recycling is not a natural habit for many business people," observes Joan Mayer, Recycling Coordinator for Collier County. Countering that, Lee County plans to establish the standard by moving to make company recycling mandatory.

Though few businesses make money on recycling, they believe in being a good neighbor. Every container of recycled materials means less expensive garbage hauling now and in the future, less landfill; less potential for contamination of water supplies, less costly waste incineration (which shows up in garbage bills), less air pollution; and less dependence on foreign petroleum for energy to produce virgin products.

Recycling Pays

Some local businesses do manage to bring recycling savings to the bottom line. A little or a lot, company recycling administrators testify that recycling definitely is worth the effort.

Jim Weems, parts and service director for John Scanlon Auto Group in Fort Myers, estimates that recycling aluminum cans and aluminum auto parts from the shop returns about $600 a year. These bonus dollars are used to underwrite fundraising dinners for special employee needs, building morale while saving out-of-pocket expense.

Scanlon employees' dedication to the environment goes beyond this to turn in waste oil, batteries, cardboard and office paper. Reducing and recycling shop solvents onsite has cut material costs and minimized corporate liability associated with shipping hazardous materials offsite. "All of it helps meet county mandates to reduce the waste stream and keeps our refuse costs down," notes Weems.

Agriculture giant Gargiulo, Inc. in North Naples has one of the most sophisticated and profitable recycling programs in our area. General Manager Chris Davis estimates his company saves $10,000 a year in trash hauling and receives another $10,000 a year in recycling revenues.

Scrap metal and cardboard constitute the most tonnage, although according to Davis, "Just about everything you can think of in the plant and office gets recycled." Saving just one ton of garbage can save as much as $130 in pick-up and disposal costs. Davis is pleased that the company has found ways to cut back on use of hazardous solvents and cleaners, switching to food grade solvents and lubricants. Employees remain on the lookout for ways to recycle agricultural plastic.

Every week or so empty bottles from restaurant and bar service are loaded on a truck and hauled from Naples' Vanderbilt Inn on the Gulf to a nearby collection and transfer center. It's a simple, straightforward, do-it-yourself operation supervised by Executive Engineer Blaine Daugs that saves compacting and hauling costs. Employees sort glass by color as they go and segregate aluminum cans, recently up to 44 cents a pound.

Bill Hunter, chief engineer at Best Western Pink Shell on Fort Myers Beach, pays his company's garbage bills. He also understands the looming problem of local landfill, and he's a big supporter of recycling. Extra bins in every guestroom collect newspaper, aluminum cans and glass. The housekeeping staff separates recyclables, which along with restaurant glass and cardboard cartons from hotel supplies, end up in 13 designated containers for weekly collection.

"It's certainly cheaper than garbage pick-up," says Hunter, who currently is evaluating the comparative economics. "We're not 100 percent efficient, but we try to capture everything. Most guests happily cooperate."

Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt PA represents the hundreds of area offices that generate tons of paper. They are distinctive in that they first buy recycled copy paper and bond paper, then recycle 75 percent of what they use. Connie Allen, support service supervisor, confirms that of the office's total waste stream, only 25 percent becomes garbage.

"We recycle everything that is recyclable," says Allen. That includes office and copy paper, fluorescent lights and cassette tapes and batteries. Soda machines forego cans. Employees use and wash their own corporate coffee mugs. Old and outdated office supplies go to schools for use in art, math and other class work. Old stationery is remade into notepads. None of it is a moneymaking venture, but that seems to be irrelevant to employees.

"Buying recycled products and recycling used materials is a cost of doing business," affirms Jeff Brown, director of engineering at The Ritz-Carlton Naples. Brown plows annual savings of $120,000 back into the hotel's recycling effort. Without recycling, garbage pick-up would escalate from twice a week to every other day. "Our obligation to support the community extends to leaving it in good shape for our children," he says.

Recycling Trends

County solid waste recycling coordinators can help expand our perspective. Did you know that 40 percent of what's in the garbage is paper? And that 13 of that 40 percent is cardboard, which can be recycled nine times? Did you know that newspaper can be recycled seven times before the fiber disintegrates?

Nationally, Environmental Protection Agency statistics show that paper and paperboard comprise the bulk of municipal solid waste recovered for reuse today. Accelerating recycling activity points away from landfill and incineration.

The good news locally is that cardboard recycling, promoted here since the late 1980s, is doing relatively well. As many as half of Southwest Florida businesses are on board in some areas according to Jan Lutz, division sales manager for Waste Management. Hotels, restaurants, department stores, bookstores, furniture stores and movers routinely recycle cardboard boxes.

On the other hand, office paper, promoted as a recyclable item starting three to four years ago, still lags far behind. Government offices in Collier County elected to set the standard by recycling 90 percent of their paper, shredding 1,000 pounds a month of sensitive documents. Hospitals, banks and schools have joined this positive trend. Asian and Middle East markets are primary buyers of the material.

Easy corporate strategies for reducing office paper at the front end include: using email for intracompany memos; selecting two-sided formats on copy machines; deleting separate fax cover sheets; simplifying forms; and writing more concise proposals and reports.

Southwest Florida falls short in recycling ubiquitous mercury-rich fluorescent light bulbs. A few forward-looking companies protect the environment by bagging bulbs for drop-off or pick-up. But most companies still dispose of them in a dumpster, a legal violation that can lead to stiff fines, as can improper handling of any hazardous waste.

Handling Hazardous Waste

"We take garbage disposal for granted, but it has the potential to immobilize us," says Joan Mayer of Collier County's Solid Waste Department. She notes that Lee County's cogeneration waste incinerator is one of 13 in the state. Florida burns more garbage than any other state as part of a move to close landfills out of compliance with pollution regulations, decrease potential superfund cleanup sites and protect underground water resources.

"Hazardous waste is already a problem and can be Florida's downfall," predicts Mayer. "Everything gets into our water system."

Hazardous wastes encompass combustible, corrosive, explosive and poisonous substances governed by a complex network of federal and state regulations. Good waste management practices by large and small quantity generators include proper storage and handling as well as permitted recycling, treatment or disposal by authorized transporters. Biomedical waste constitutes its own category, none of which can be recycled.

"Everyone likes to think of himself as environmentally responsible, but dumpsters tell a different story," says Dale Nottingham, program supervisor, Lee County Pollution Prevention for Small Quantity Generators. "Violations and their consequences to CEOs and companies caught by state inspectors can be costly and send you to jail. Any monetary value you 'saved' just gets tacked on to the total liability. Why not protect yourself?"

Non-threatening, informed assistance is readily available through county pollution prevention programs. Team members will evaluate a company's current situation and potential problems and offer direct paths to solutions. They also organize periodic hazardous waste collection days as a simple, convenient alternative for clearing out common waste products from corporate property.

"Our job is to help you prevent problems," Nottingham notes. "We are not an enforcement or regulatory agency."

"We help businesses better understand applicable rules and changes," says Ray Smith, chief environmental specialist with the Collier County Pollution Control and Prevention Department. "We encourage you to call us anytime."

That's a sentiment actively echoed by recycling, solid waste and pollution prevention managers in Lee and Collier counties.

S. Alison Chabonais is a freelance business writer and public relations consultant.

Core Business Recyclables

Cardboard

Office paper (except fax)

Telephone books

Fluorescent bulbs

Aluminum

Glass

Some plastics

Newspaper

Batteries

Some paints

Food grease

Engine oil & filters

Antifreeze

Tires

Scrap metals

Construction materials

Hazardous Waste Generators

Buildings with Fluorescent Lighting

Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Shops

Printers & Copy Shops

Dry Cleaners & Laundries

Hospitals & Clinics

Photograph & X-ray Labs

Medical Laboratories

Vo-Tech Schools

Electroplating Shops

Manufacturers

Pest Control Services

Lawn Care Companies

Pool Cleaners

Furniture Refinishers

Boat Yards & Marinas

Freight Terminals

Funeral Services

Chemical Retailers

Cleaning Services

Building and Road Contractors

Who to Call

Collin Davis, Recycling Coordinator 479-8113

Lee County Environmental Services, Solid Waste Division

Joan Mayer, Recycling Coordinator 732-2508

Collier County Solid Waste Department

Dale Nottingham, Program Supervisor 479-8181

Pollution Prevention, Small Quantity Generators

Lee County Division of Natural Resource Management

Ray Smith, Chief Environmental Specialist 732-2502

Collier County Pollution Control and Prevention Department

Peter Fiore, Environmental Specialist II 458-7025

Lee County Health Department (covers five-county area)