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BOOK 95 PA jE 15 ! were picking up the tab for them, He suggested a regional landfill with one recycling area. The seventh item he mentioned was vacant land. He felt that the property owners were not being charged for clipping trees, mowing and maintenance, as well as Landfill charges. He then requested a workshop with the Utilities Department and the Solid Waste Disposal District for commercial customers. Director Pinto advised the Board that there is a lot of controversy in the industry about MRF versus curbside recycling. His opinion was that with MRF you are able to get a lot better separation but you get contaminated materials and you lose the quality that the market is looking for today. For instance, if newspapers are contaminated with other types of garbage, the buyers will not buy them; if glass is broken, there is no good way to separate brown from green and buyers need that to be separated. However, there is a trade-off when you look at the elimination of the expense of curbside versus the operation of a MRF. Staff is proposing to look not for a 30% reduction, but for a 70% reduction. However, in order to do that you have to get the people that are going to use the recycled material near the site because. the l:rgest expenses are transportation and handling of the materials. T e success rate of recycling depends on whether you are an accountant or a solid waste engineer. When the success rate of c4rbside recycling is considered, you will hear that if you get 70% of the people participating and you get x amount of tons, that's very, very successful. On the other hand, when you look at cost per ton, probably recycling at curbside is the most expensive, approximately $150 a ton. Chairman Macht wondered about a reasonable amount of separation at the source before it goes to the transport organization, and Director Pinto felt that the best way for reduction in cost is to have a hybrid system where certain• materials come from curbside recycling and then, on top of that, a M�ZF at the Landfill. Commissioner Bird emphasized that, even with the MRF, if you separate out all the recyclables and all you have left is garbage, it still does not eliminate the requirement to line landfills and to withdraw water and process it, because it is going to get contaminated from the garbage. Director Pinto felt that if the County buys the rest of the land being discussed at the Landfill and creates the park being discussed, this County --will never have to see another purchase or MAY 229 1995 � � r