Lexington, KY recycling center LFUCG 9.22.11 (Notes and photos from facility tour)

ARC 599 Class Notes 09.22.11

09.22.11
Field Trip to the LUFCG Recycling Center:
360 Thompson Road.
Lexington, KY 40508


- Esther Moberly:  Waste Management Program Specialist.

  LFUCG Plant tour:
- Landfill waste transfer station (outside of
  Lexington).  
- M&M charges residents $7.00.month to recycle,
  then the LFUCG RC pays them AGAIN!
- Residential property tax covers waste.
- Herbie (garbage), Rosie (recycling), Lenny (yard waste).
- New Program:  Certain neighborhoods put food in their
  Lenny for recycling - food waste - Grubby (compost
  bin in yard.) 
- Yard - composting facility near Clark County -
  becomes mulch (4) times annually - free mulch
  given out to the community.


- $3.5 million in new equipment at the LFUCG in
  2009.  Can now accept glass with everything else,
  (single stream.)
- Plastic bottles:  water, juice, soda, milk, detergent,
  bleach.
- Gas:  trucking materials around.


- Material through the facility:  20,000 tons in
  2009 = $1.6 million in revenue.  25,000 tons in
  2010 = $2.4 million in revenue.  


- Other recycling companies in the area :
  Central Kentucky Fiber Resources, LLC,
  Goodwill, Wise Recycling (metal), e-Waste
  Recycling company on Versailles Road.


- Glass is sent to Atlanta, GA.
- Plastic bottles sent to Atlanta, GA to multiple
  carpet companies.
- Croix, Alabama - soup cans recycled for steel.
- Novelis:  World's largest aluminum can recycler:
  Berea, Kentucky.
  http://www.novelis.com/en-us/Pages/home.aspx

- Phone books - used for building insulation?
- Plastic bags:  stock pile/bale until enough accumulates
  to make it worth shipping.

- U.S. corporate chain stores with recycling programs:
  Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Kroger.

- LFUCG looking to expand to have commercial
  and residential recycling capability.


- Toyota is asking suppliers to use alternatives to wood
  pallets.

- Lexington's landfill is for construction and demolition
  debris only - LFUCG is implementing a construction
  material recycling center.

- CSTS:  Convenience Center Transfer Station.
- Goodwill's unusable clothes used as building
  insulation?  Currently they send clothes to a company
  that makes mechanic's rags.

- Toyota:  seat covers/car upholstery recycled. 

- "Film": plastic wraps, bags, sheeting, potato chip bags,
  shower curtains.