Consulting Services for Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Composting & Solid Waste Management The Garbage Lady is available to "talk trash." How I Fell in Love with Trash A Message from Jodi Taitt The Garbage Lady & President JL Taitt & Associates, Inc. Project Reports To learn more about our work, you can download these JL Taitt & Associates reports and project summaries: Strategies to Reduce and Recycle Solid Waste in Grocery Stores-- In 2002, JL Taitt & Associates identified barriers and opportunities for increasing waste reduction and recycling in grocery stores, developed solutions and implemented these solutions in demonstration projects. Reusable Transport Packaging Market Research Report-- In 2000, JL Taitt & Associates conducted national and local market research for the Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board to identify industry leaders that have replaced one-time or limited-use pallets and boxes with reusable transport packaging and to determine the measurable benefits of using reusable transport packaging. Reusable Transport Packaging Marketing Plan-- In 2001, JL Taitt & Associates developed a marketing plan for the Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board to encourage Twin Cities businesses to reduce the use of one-time or limited-use pallets and boxes. Benefits of Reusable Transport Packaging Lower Shipping & Labor Costs Better Product Protection & Less Product Damage More Productive Flow of Goods through Distribution Channels Better Ergonomics Improved Worker Safety Longer Useful Life of Packaging Organic Waste Management National research suggests that 69 to 89 percent of the garbage generated in grocery stores is organic in nature, comprised of food, fiber and floral waste. Organic waste management strategies offer the greatest opportunities to divert the largest volumes of garbage generated by grocery stores from the waste stream. Recycling Collection Systems In August 2001, the Winona County Board of Commissioners awarded a five-year, $2.5 million contract for recycling collection services to begin January 2002. Reuse Program Planning The best type of business reuse program in the Twin Cities would be located in an existing Twin Cities private or nonprofit organization already positioned to work with businesses. The organization would out-source for services such as catalog publication and updating, fax-on-demand services and web site management. FEATURED PROJECTS Reusable Transport Packaging There's A Better Way Awareness & Education Campaign Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board The Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB), representing six counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, is responsible for developing policies and programs for managing the garbage generated by the 2.6 million residents in the Twin Cities. In 2001, the SWMCB managed 3.3 million tons of garbage, and it is projected that it will manage more than five million tons by 2017. Wood pallets and cardboard boxes comprise over 17 percent of the garbage generated by businesses in Minnesota. Because there is limited landfill space left for garbage in the entire state, the SWMCB set a goal to reduce the amount of commercial transport packaging waste in the waste stream by 75,000 tons per year by 2003. In 2000, JL Taitt & Associates was selected by the SWMCB to develop a marketing plan to encourage Twin Cities businesses to replace one-time and limited-use pallets and boxes with reusable pallets and containers. We conducted national and local market research and developed a marketing plan featuring a reusable transport packaging awareness and education campaign. Using the marketing plan as a tool, we continued our work with the SWMCB in 2001 to develop and implement the There's a Better Way reusable transport packaging awareness and education campaign. The campaign began with a focus on the development and distribution of awareness-building direct mail pieces and the production of Reusables 101. In 2002, we worked with the SWMCB to create the There's a Better Way web site at www.better-way.info and plan and manage the There's a Better Way workshop. Believed to be the first of its kind in the country, a workshop summary is provided on the web site. We continue to work with the SWMCB to develop and market the web site, identify opportunities to educate Twin Cities businesses and state and local government officials about reusable transport packaging and sponsor more educational events. Organic Waste Management Strategies to Reduce & Recycle Solid Waste in Grocery Stores Washington County, Minnesota Washington County, located on the eastern edge of Minnesota, is one of seven Twin cities metropolitan counties. The City of Stillwater, along the St. Croix River, serves as the County seat. Washington County is comprised of 423 square miles and is home to 201,130 residents. The County projects that its population will grow to over 288,000 by 2020. In December 2001, the County hired JL Taitt & Associates to identify barriers and opportunities for increasing waste reduction and recycling in grocery stores, develop solutions and implement these solutions in demonstration projects. Our national grocery industry research suggests that the composition of the solid waste stream in a grocery store is significantly high in organic waste (69 to 89 percent) and organic waste management strategies offer the greatest opportunities to divert the largest volume of solid waste generated by grocery stores from the waste stream. We obtained the participation from two grocery stores located in Washington County - Kowalski's Market and Rainbow Foods - and evaluated the stores' current solid waste generation, recycling, waste reduction and disposal activities. We conducted an economic analysis using data from the two stores to explore the recovery of source separated organic material for composting. We reported on our work in 2002 and continued to provide technical assistance to the grocery stores in 2003. Both Rainbow Foods and Kowalski's Market made the decision to develop and implement organic waste management systems. Our final report on organic waste management strategies in grocery stores will be available in Fall 2003. Recycling Collection Systems Recycling Program Evaluation & Analysis Winona County, Minnesota Winona County, located in southeastern Minnesota, started its recycling program in 1985. The County's program is unique due to its varied customers and wide range of program components: residential curbside collection multi-family housing collection commercial and institutional collection collection of materials at rural recycling drop-sites In June 2000, the County retained the services of JL Taitt & Associates to evaluate its existing recycling program, identify improvements that could be made to the program and develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) for county-wide recycling collection services. Based on our evaluation and analysis of the program, we made the following recommendations to improve the County's program: reduce the number of sorts for residents change the frequency of curbside collection to every other week add the operation and management of one supervised recycling drop-site give the County a system of accountability to manage its recycling service contract employ an operational method to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the program In April 2001, the County issued the RFP we developed based on our recommendations. The County evaluated proposals using the proposal evaluation method we developed and a community-based evaluation committee. In August 2001, the Winona County Board of Commissioners awarded a five-year, $2.5 million contract for recycling collection services to begin January 2002. Reuse Program Planning Business Reuse Programs Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board According to the Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB) Regional Solid Waste Master Plan, reuse has significant potential to reduce the waste generated by the 2.6 million residents in Minnesota's Twin Cities metropolitan area. In 2001, the SWMCB managed 3.3 million tons of garbage, and it is projected that it will manage more than five million tons by 2017. The SWMCB is targeting a reuse of 50,000 tons of material per year by 2003, drawing from both the commercial and residential sectors. In March 2000, JL Taitt & Associates was selected by the SWMCB to identify and research successful business reuse programs in the United States and Canada and to determine the best type of program for the SWMCB six-county region. We created a list of over 100 business reuse programs in the United States and Canada and researched 55 of these programs. Of the 55 programs we contacted, we identified four programs as the most successful: Iowa Waste Exchange Indiana Materials Exchange; Ohio Materials Exchange Southern Waste Information Exchange, Inc. Based on our research and the results of a focus group we facilitated to solicit feedback from the Twin Cities business community on the willingness to use various reuse methods, we developed recommendations for a new business reuse program. Our final report concludes that the best type of business reuse program in the Twin Cities would be located in an existing Twin Cities private or nonprofit organization already positioned to work with businesses. The organization would out-source for services such as catalog publication and updating, fax-on-demand services and web site management. Home / About Us / Services / Projects / Resources / What's New Our Corporate Identity / Let's Talk Trash / Contact Us JL Taitt & Associates, Inc. 8457 North Meadow Lake Road, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55428 USA PHONE: 763-504-2445 / FAX: 763-504-2450 e-mail: jodi@jltaitt.com / www.jltaitt.com / www.garbagelady.com / copyright 2004