By Pat Sherman
SDUN Assistant Editor
This week, as taxpayers tried to prevent a house call from the IRS, scrutinizing each last-minute deduction, Balboa Park was undergoing a different sort of audit – of its trash.
The nonprofit Balboa Park Cultural Partnership hopes that by having waste management experts examine the contents of trash and recycling receptacles at its 23 member institutions, it will learn how the park’s tenants can reduce the amount of trash sent to the near-capacity Miramar landfill – all while saving money.
“It’s all about lowering our carbon footprint,” said Rory Ruppert, program director of environmental sustainability and collective business operations for the park.
EDCO Disposal Corporation, which handles trash removal for the majority of the park, has completed audits at seven of the 11 Balboa Park institutions that have so far been scheduled for the free service. The remainder of the sites will receive audits at a later date, and a report on the Park’s overall performance will be compiled.
Trash and recyclable bins are removed from each property and sorted at an off-site EDCO facility, such as its recycling plant in Lemon Grove.
“Frankly, people are surprised at what is recyclable,” Steve South, EDCO’s president and chief executive officer, said. “Everybody wants to do the right thing but a lot of times it’s just educating the public.”
Of sites already audited, Ruppert touted the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center as the “shining star” of sustainability. Its audit found that 97 percent of material in recycle bins was recyclable, while trash bins contained 8 percent recyclables.
The museum has applied for and is awaiting LEED silver certification. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a U.S. Green Building Council program that recognizes outstanding performance in environmentally friendly building practices.
An audit at the San Diego Air and Space Museum found there was only 4 percent trash in their recycling bins and 11 percent recycling thrown in with their trash. EDCO will be implementing a battery recycling program at the museum in the near future.
Other institutions didn’t fare quite as well. After one event held at the Hall of Champions, EDCO’s waste auditors found recycle bins contained 62 percent trash. Ruppert said park management is working to educate catering companies who use the Hall of Champions and will improve signage and placement of trash and recycle bins.
Audit results at the building housing the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego Model Railroad Museum and San Diego History Center also came up short. Overall, the tenants need to reduce the amount of recyclables ending up in the trash by 50 percent, Ruppert said. EDCO will institute an internal recycling education program for the tenants, including a “spot-audit” to give them “a better understanding of how it all works,” she said.
Mingei Museum, while faring better, also showed room for improvement. While 90 percent of its recycle bin contained recyclable material, 38 percent of its trash was paper that could have been recycled.
Ruppert said her department would be meeting with Mingei staff this month to provide further education. By adding recycling bins at each desk and workstation, she expects to reduce the museum’s trash service by half, and lower collection costs by 25 percent.
EDCO sells much of the recyclable material it collects, so the cost for removal is far less than for waste. It costs the park $67 to remove a three-yard bin of trash, while pickup for the same size bin of recyclables is only $17.50, Ruppert said.
“You can see it’s very motivating to get that right and to recycle as much as possible,” she said.
Last year, EDCO processed about 130 million pounds of newspaper and mixed paper, most of which is exported to countries overseas. Plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common form of recyclable plastic, can be resold and turned into fleece jackets, carpeting and other items.
South said EDCO recovers about 1,000 tons of recyclables a day countywide, 70 percent of which is paper, cardboard and other fibrous material. He estimates EDCO’s recycling program in Balboa Park will divert about 33,000 pounds of material per year from ending up in the Miramar landfill when the audits and education efforts are complete.
In addition, EDCO handles recycling for the Old Globe Theatre’s set design, carting away wood, metal and other items. Park tenants also have access to free onsite e-waste recycling through RMD Technologies.
Audits are scheduled to take place this week at the San Diego Museum of Art, Centro Cultural de la Raza and World Beat Center.
The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership is a collaboration of 24 arts, science and cultural organizations in Balboa Park. The audit is part of the partnership’s goal of improving the park’s environmental impact by 2015.
For more information, go to edcodisposal.com or bpcp.org.
