30,000 Homes in Syracuse Receive Power from Trash 3,000 Homes in Syracuse Receive Power from Recycling

3,000 Homes in Syracuse Receive Power from Trash

CYERA WILLIAMS: Did you know so far in 2021 Americans have thrown away 40 million tons of food? But we don’t really think about that, we just kind of throw it away. And if you think that’s a lot, according to Onondaga County Resource and Recovery Agency, residents throw out 20 percent of food waste, that’s 6,000 tons per year. And that 6,000 tons doesn’t include recyclables, paper, plastics, even stuff you’re not supposed to throw away. So you have to think about what happens when you throw away your trash? Here in Onondaga County, Syracuse Haulers are typically the people to pick up the trash and take it to their facility. There the haulers sort through the trash separating it by cardboards, metals, plastics, and paper.

WILLIE PARKER: You know, um, you got to separate this stuff to make it easier. Like you see I’m picking up cans and stuff because it should be all paper in here. And this stuff just makes the product all messed up when you’re trying to send it out. If you’re trying to send out paper you don’t want cans and stuff in it so you just have to separate it.

WILLIAMS: Once separated, they are able to sell bales of these separated materials to companies who want to use biodegradable products to make new things like bags or clothing.

DIANNA AMIDON: We’re going to try to pull out and recapture what we can.

WILLIAMS: Project Manager Dianna Amidon says this production costs thousands of dollars even before the trash workers can come pick up the community waste.

AMIDON: I have to register it, I have to get a divisible loan, I have to re-register it, I have to buy a hub permit, I have to pay so many cents per miles, and then depending on what materials that carry with it, there’s four to five thousand dollars that we have to pay every year for a 360 Ford to be able to carry certain materials. So it adds up but now watch, that’s just the truck. Now I can put the key in it.

WILLIAMS: Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, also known as OCRRA separates and sells single stream recycling materials just like Syracuse Haulers but on a larger scale. One thing that separates OCRRA is their Waste to Energy Facility. They are able to take the community’s trash and turn it into power for the community. That power is able to generate electricity for 30 thousand homes here in Onondaga County. Knowing that this operation helps Syracuse function efficiently, residents feel inclined to do their part.

GEORGE DOEBLER: Yeah I mean, I feel that I am helping out. A lot of people tell me I’m helping out with the environment and stuff like that. So it’s a win-win for everybody I guess.

WILLIAMS: And with everyone pitching in, we’re able to have clean renewable energy. In Syracuse, Cyera Williams, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Americans have thrown away 40 million tons of food and according to Onondaga County Resource and Recovery Agency (OCRRA), residents throw out 20% of food waste, averaging 6,000 tons per year. Items that residents throw out can be recycled, outsourced and turned into power to generate electricity for 3,000 homes. 

“The thing that people don’t recognize about waste is that after you throw it away there’s
an entire industry there,” Cristina Albunio, an environmental engineer, said.

Haulers who collect residents’ trash transport it to the Waste-to-Energy Facility. All of the waste collected is locally managed by OCRRA because transporting waste on a train or at a far distance can increase climate impact and greenhouse gas reduction.

 

OCRRA Hierarchy Table
EPA regulations require OCRRA to be aligned with the national average in order to successfully operate and not contribute to greenhouse gases and climate impact.
© 2019 Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency

The waste is dropped into a boiler that exceeds 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam that comes from the trash being disintegrated turns turbine blades that become electromagnetic energy, ultimately producing electricity. OCRRA sells this electricity to National Grid as a revenue source to help maintain operations.

“Electricity is becoming a hotter commodity now, we’re trying to have more electric vehicles, we’re trying to rely on electricity more and fossil fuels less,” Albunio said.

The Waste-to-Energy facility operates year-round for 24 per day. The idea that trash will always be around means electricity can always be generated and used in different ways. Albunio said as they expand their electric capability in the United States, they are going to be in a good position to be a good energy source that is sustainable. OCRRA facilities also have limits on the things they can collect and use.

Chart of OCRRA facilities
Onondaga County Resource and Recovery Agency manages several facilities that sort resident waste.
© 2019 Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency

Albunio said, “We utilize a Waste-to-Energy facility, and that facility processes all of our municipal solid waste every year, so things that you can’t compost, things you can’t recycle, things that can’t go into a C&D [construction and demolition] landfill all go into our Waste-to-Energy Facility.”

The construction and demolition landfill located in Camillus also produces new materials out of the trash they receive. This landfill is able to produce

Syracuse Haulers is a local waste removal and recycling agency that has been in business since 1991. With over 100 employees, Syracuse Haulers operates for residential, commercial and construction customers, including building demolition. The commercial loads that are brought into the facility get dumped onto their tipping floor and sorted through for paper and cardboard.

“The goal is to get as much clean cardboard and paper as you could because those are your two commodities that are the easiest to sell” Dianna Amidon, project manager at Syracuse Haulers, said.

All plastics are not considered commodities because companies Syracuse Haulers sell to are looking for specific classifications to reuse and recycle them. The cardboard and paper pulled from their dumping system is moved to their baler to compact the recyclables. Companies like GP Harmon Recycling LLC and Westrock Paperboard Mill take these materials and create new resources like paper bags, cardboard, and packaging.

Recycling starts at the source, employees who work at dumping sites said that if trash was separated sooner, process and operations would also help move things along.

“If you’re trying to send out paper you don’t want cans and stuff in it, so you just have to separate it”  Willie Parker, an employee at Syracuse Haulers, said.

 

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