Solid Waste Analysis - Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn

Fort Greene Park: Waste Analysis and Policy Recommendations Dylan Hammond, Sulekha Gangopadhyay, Ankita Navalade, Sonya Gimon

What kind of waste is generated in Fort Greene park?

Parks are unique entities; they do not generate waste (except yard waste), but are responsible for the waste generated by their patrons. In this report we study and analyze a non-traditional source of waste and suggest systems that are capable of reducing waste.

Waste generated in parks is collected by the Parks Department sanitation trucks, who carry it to the transfer stations. Following, which the waste is transported to landfills that are situated out of the city boundaries. The tipping fee for every ton of waste is as high as $110-$80, and is projected to rise as the landfills exhaust their capacity. In parks, these funds are generated using tax amount paid by citizens. As taxpayers we end up paying for unsustainable waste management. The most prevalent, “one stream” waste disposal system, is highly inefficient. It not only reduces the chances of recycling, but also incurs high tipping fees.

In order to understand the waste stream in Fort Greene Park, we have collected samples from multiple trash bins from different locations. We

adopted random sampling method of data collection and have projected the cost benefit data based on the results.

Fort Green’s waste stream can be classified into self-generated waste, and waste that is created by visitors. Self-generating stream includes the yard waste, landscape debris and dried leaves. Visitor’s waste generally consist of coffee cups, bottles, cigarette butts etc. A Large portion of the waste consists of dog waste. Most of the dog waste is observed in the southern part of the park. The park provides plastic dog waste dispensers, which are donated by non-profit organizations. Every Saturday, Fort Greene hosts a farmer’s market; they manage their waste separately. The park has a designated area for barbeque activities. These areas have metal bins for the disposal of burnt charcoal.

The waste generation highly depends on the influx of patrons into the park, which is more in the summer and on weekends. According to Dave Barker, the park director, the neighborhood is very respectful of the park space and maintains cleanliness.

What did the sample study of waste composition show?

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The waste stream differs according to the area of the park. In spite of the variations in waste stream, dog waste represents almost a half of the park’s waste stream. Sustainable disposal of dog waste can reduce the overall tonnage waste by 50%.

Trash bin 1: Location: Myrtle Avenue.

Components: Three major waste components of this bin are paper, organics and dog waste.

Observations: As this bin is placed along the Myrtle Ave, the amount of paper and organic waste is comparatively more, because of the waste disposed by people passing Myrtle Avenue.

Trash bin 2: Location: Near tennis court.

Components: 80% of waste stream of this bin comprises of dog waste.

Trash bin 3: Location: Near Washington park entrance.

Components: 89% of waste stream of this bin comprises of dog waste.

Trash bin 4: Location: On the main axis of the park.

Components: Contains high amount of organic waste (dried leaves) Observations: Sometimes wet leaves and twigs are disposed of in the bin.

What happens to the park’s waste today?

Currently, patrons in the park dispose their trash in one-stream bins that are strategically placed in the

park according to the frequency of waste disposal.

Every bin is monitored individually. The liner of the bin

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is changed when a specific bin reaches its capacity and is taken out and kept besides the bin. The trash from each bin is collected by a park vehicle or by a team of volunteers and is transported to the drop off point near southern part of the park. Garbage trucks are generally heavy and it is not advisable to allow them inside the park. They damage the paved pathways within the park, carry stench and create pollution. Carters collect

one stream trash from the south entrance (DeKalb gate) and transport it to the waste transfer station. There are separate bins for charcoal disposal in barbeque area.

The park also has on site disposal strategy for dried leaves. In this process the leaves are allowed to dry and disintegrate. However, the compost obtained from leaves lacks nitrogen and hence cannot be termed as rich compost material.

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Park visitors throw away bottles, cups, dog waste or anything else into one of the identical bins located in the park.

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Once the bin is full, a park employee takes out the bag, seals it and places it next to the bin. He or she then puts a new bag into the bin.

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About once in a week, a Parks Department sanitation truck comes into the park and collects all of the bags. The trucks goes around all of the park pathways where trash bins are located.

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The truck takes the material to the waste transfer station where it is sent to one of the landfills outside of New York State.

Who is involved in park’s waste management today?

Park visitors (including dog owners), park staff, taxpayers, parks sanitation workers, community gardeners, Fort Greene Conservancy, and intermittently Department of Sanitation workers.

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What are the downsides of the park’s current waste management?

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Carter garbage vehicles are generally heavy and are not advisable to be used inside the park. They can damage the paved pathways inside the park.

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Although the park is trying to keep as much of yard waste on site to avoid sending it landfill, the compost from these leaves lacks nitrogen and hence cannot be termed as rich compost material.

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The park does not provide any opportunity for recycling. All waste, except for the portion of the yard waste, is collected together.

Is there an opportunity for change?

The park’s administration is willing to introduce recycling, as well as it is interested in keeping the heavy truck out of the park’s borders. However, there are certain challenges associated with this intent.

Ideally, the park would like to set up a location in the park where all the full bags could be concentrated on a rolling basis. To be able to arrange for this, the park will need to acquire its own vehicle, a smaller truck,

that would be able to move the bags without damaging the pathways. As for recycling, the park lacks general understanding of the waste stream composition which created doubts as to what types of recycling are the most needed. According to the park’s administration, there might be a possibility to obtain funds necessary for acquiring a vehicle as well for setting up new recycling system.

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What are the solutions and steps for implementing the change?

Introducing glass/plastic/metal recycling bins with signage.

The waste stream sample study showed that each bin contains a certain portion of glass, plastic and metal. The portion however is relatively small in comparison to some other components of the waste stream such as dog waste or organics.

Setting up a location in the park for all of the waste stream to be collected would allow for all the recyclables to be stored on site.

Further studies are needed to determine the necessary schedule of collections, but the small amount of recyclables in the waste stream identified in the preliminary study shows that relatively rare collections might be enough, resulting in more economical solutions. It can be suggested that the new park vehicle, necessary for bringing bags of material to one location in the park, operates on electricity.

Inside the park, the vehicle travels around 2 to 2.5 miles for every pick up.

Electric vehicle will enable an emissionless garbage pick up and help maintain air quality within the park.

Arranging recyclables collection. Today, Parks Department Sanitation trucks do not collect the recyclables.

However, all New York City agencies and non-profit institutions are required to recycle. The NYC Department of Sanitation provides curbside recycling and garbage collection for nonprofit organizations and City agencies in tax-exempt buildings. organizations that are eligible for service – but not yet receiving it – can request DSNY collection. Potentially, the park might be eligible for the DSNY’s service, otherwise we suggest that Parks Department provides recycling pickup for all parks over a certain size. In case that none of the Departments agree to collect the recyclables from the park, a private carter can also be arranged.

Setting up leaf collection points for the park’s employees and introducing organics collection at the barbeque area. Even though the study shows a significant amount of organics in the waste stream, the majority of the organic material was composed of leaves. It is important to ensure that the leaves do not get into the bins, but are rather collected in specific locations of the park.

Introducing organics collection in the barbeque area would allow to collect a certain quantity of food scraps that could enhance an already existing composting system, adding nitrogen component to the yard material.

Introducing dog waste recycling.

The highest potential for waste reduction within the park is in the collection and remediation of dog waste on-site. The USDA and Department of Natural Resource Conservation have issued guidelines for remediating dog waste for use in gardens and as a fertilizer for use in landscaping. The process involves mixing proportions of dog waste and organic carbon such as wood chips, sawdust or or leaf litter and allowing microbes to break down the waste. This process necessitates monitoring of compost bin temperatures to ensure the destruction of pathogens as well as a period of “curing” before use as an organic soil amendment.

Total amount of miles traveled by a vehicle inside the park.

Is this economically possible?

Based on current market prices for recycling infrastructure and composting equipment, a cursory cost-benefit analysis was done to examine which of the multiple strategies for waste mitigation would be most effective. Taking into account current tipping fees per ton of waste generated as well as potential reduced tipping fees for metal/glass/plastic and paper, we found that the largest savings came from implementing on-site composting of both food and dog waste alongside a comprehensive recycling collection program.

The largest annual savings comes from the implementation of all three programs however this involves the installation of new composting facilities and more than likely the addition of a staff person to implement the dog waste and organics composting programs.

A more comprehensive cost benefit analysis could be prepared with additional sampling and a consultation with the East River State Park that operates only working example of dog waste composting in the NYC metro area.

It does not make financial sense to go the minimalist route and only purchase infrastructure for recyclables. The timeline is approximately three years for a return on investment and the annual savings are the least out of all programs. With a marginal increases in capital investment the returns increase substantially for organic and dog waste composting.

Captial Investment

Monitoring/ Maintainance

Return On Investment

Recyclables

$6,500

N/A

3yrs

Recyclables & Organics (Food Waste)

$8,000

Volunteer/ Existing

1.2yrs

Recyclables & Organics (Dog Waste)

$10,000

(1) @ 15hr/wk ~$8,000 /yr

1.5yrs

** All analysis assumes a baseline average annual tonnage of 166 Tons/yr.