1. Perspectives from State and Local
Government: The Philadelphia Story
AMERIPEN Annual Meeting
June 26, 2014
Phil Bresee
Director of Recycling
City of Philadelphia

2. Philadelphia’s Story
• Founded 1682 by William Penn
• Fifth-largest City in U.S. with 1.55
million residents
• Metro area = ~6 million
• Healthcare, financial services,
tourism, refining, IT based economy
(transitioning from manufacturing)
• Renowned higher education system
• “Global” city, rich in history, arts,
culture, professional sports, etc.

3. MSW Management in Philadelphia 2012
Recycled
1,364,255
50%
WTE
640,743
23%
Landfilled
724,010
27%
• City provides residential
MSW collection and
disposal
• Limited services to small
businesses
• Commercial & institutional
MSW market-based

4. Philadelphia’s MSW Circle of Influence
Opportunities:
Total MSW Stream
= (~2.7 million
tons)
Influence:
Commercial
MSW and C&D
= ~75% of total
Control:
Residential MSW
= ~25% of total

5. MSW Management Trends in Philadelphia (includes
residential, commercial, C&D)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Recycled & Composted 1,221,029 1,025,394 1,175,842 1,493,955 1,396,987 1,364,255
Disposed 1,964,247 1,771,033 1,495,412 1,437,419 1,443,037 1,351,800
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
TonsPerYear
Philadelphia MSW 2007-2012

6. Residential Solid Waste Collection
• Department of Streets
collects weekly from
~523,000 HH
– ~$90 million budget
– 1,200 employees
– 200+ trucks (100% run on
bio-diesel); 5 transfer sites
– Street cleaning & litter can
collections
– Special event collections
– Anti-litter programs
• Recyclables = 123,000+ tons
curbside for FY 2013
• Garbage = 497,000 tons for
FY 2013

7. • PA Act 101 (1988):
– Mandatory recycling for
municipalities with more
than 5,000 persons
– Includes commercial
recycling requirements
– Established 35% recycling
goal
• Commercial recycling
ordinance established 1994
• Greenworks sustainability
plan goals including 25%
residential diversion rate and
70% landfill diversion rate
Key Recycling Requirements & Policy Goals

8. Curbside Recycling Program
• First piloted curbside
recycling circa 1986
• Single-stream since 2009
• FY 2014 projected: 126,000
tons (480+- lbs. per HH/per
year)
• Fiscal benefits to city (FY
2014 projected):
– $2.4 million in revenues
– $7.4 million in avoided
disposal fees
• Recyclebank pilots began in
2005; city-wide since 2010

9. Comparative Curbside Recycling Rates
(c. 2012; single-stream recyclables only)

10. Recycling Revitalization Milestones in Philadelphia
Efforts supported by outreach, education, events and enforcement.
Recyclebank
Pilot

11. Other Initiatives & Programs
• Public space recycling
opportunities (~970 Big-Belly
sites).
• Recycling drop-off centers at
sanitation yards accept other
materials:
– Electronics
– Household Hazardous Waste
• Public event recycling:
– 86% recycling/composting rate
at 2013 Philadelphia Marathon

12. • Curbside recycling
capture rate = 60-65%
• Packaging & paper
25% of residential
MSW
• Current packaging &
paper program
recyclables just 13.5%
of residential MSW
Philadelphia’s Residential MSW Stream
Other metal
25,539
Other glass
4,420
Other plastics
16,698
Organics, 133,588
Tex/rub/lthr
36,835
C&D
92,333
E-Waste
7,858
Other, 60,409
Paper & cardboard
70,723
Metal, plastic &
glass cont. & pckg.
23,083
Film & bags pckg.
19,645
MSW disposed estimates based on MSW composition analysis.

13. Philadelphia’s Challenges?
• Changing MSW stream (less
low-hanging fruit)
• Fiscal issues
• Politics (new mayor 2015)
• Logistical and operational
Photo courtesy of Peter Tobia

14. How to Move the Philly Needle?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2012 2015 2020 2025
Residential Recycling Overall Recycling
• Target more paper & packaging
materials; household metals &
plastic
• Increase public space & institutional
recycling opportunities
• Increase recycling in multifamily
communities
• Expand commercial recycling
support
• Pursue bigger targets (organics)?
• Legislative & regulatory:
– Reduce MSW denominator (e.g.,
review collection & set-out
practices; materials bans)
– Commercial hauler reporting

15. Change the Paradigm…
• Pursue public-private partnership
opportunities (wave of the future)
• Be willing to discuss “third rail” issues
• Emphasize economic value of recycling
(2008 five-state (PA, NY, MA, ME, DE)
economic study):
– 11,738 recycling or recycling-reliant
establishments (3,803 in PA)
– Workforce of 100,500; payroll of
$4.2 billion (52,316 & $2.1 billion in
PA)
– $35 billion in gross receipts ($20.5
billion in PA)

16. How Can AMERIPEN Help?
 Engage states and recognize
opportunities:
 Many states have recently revamped
their solid waste management
approaches and goals (Conn., California,
Massachusetts)
 Others are in process (Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota)
 Engage policy makers, shapers & doers
 Garbage & recycling are local:
Understand political, institutional and
fiscal realities
 Best management practices are great,
but be flexible
 Be proactive: Don’t just show up to
head-off things off at the pass

17. Thanks AMERIPEN!
Contact: phil.bresee@phila.gov