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Summer 2003


Articles

  • MOPP Retires a Successful Career
  • IWRC Named A Champion
  • Knoxville Raceway: A New Vehicle for Assistance
  • Iowa Waste Exchange News

MOPP Retires a Successful Career
By Traci McCollom
Public Relations Research Assistant

A useful outreach tool of the Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s (IWRC) Small Business Pollution Prevention Center (SBPPC), after years of providing a beneficial service to small business owners around the country, is retiring. The Mobile Outreach for Pollution Prevention (MOPP) vehicle is in the process of completing its last tour. The MOPP is currently under direct supervision of Sue Schauls, the SBPPC Program Manager.

The MOPP vehicle is a custom-designed Winnebago that was manufactured in Forest City, Iowa in 1994. The MOPP, a 1995 Itasca with a 460 Ford Chassis, was derived from a pilot project called Solutions for Rural Waste Management. Solutions for Rural Waste Management was a three-year pilot funded by the Northwest Area Foundation that was considered successful and in the area it focused on, increased the recycling and reuse of hazardous wastes by 42 percent.

The MOPP's custom-designed interior is housed with equipment that introduces pollution prevention ideas to small businesses. The equipment in the MOPP includes antifreeze reclamation units, a solvent still, a hot soap degreaser, an alternative solvent parts washer, an oil filter processor, alternative cleanser parts washers, a paint gun washer, and other waste reduction equipment. The MOPP provides businesses with free, hands-on equipment demonstrations using various waste reduction and recycling methods. The IWRC created the MOPP program to assist with pollution prevention and waste management for automotive maintenance and body shops.

The first MOPP demonstration trip was in 1995 to Lincoln, Nebraska for a Solvent Fair hosted by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. From Lincoln, the MOPP proceeded to its first Iowa demonstration at the Iowa-Nebraska Farm Equipment Dealer's Association in Okoboji. Sue Behrns (then the project manager), Sue Schauls and Jeff England were the first MOPP crew. Much of 1995 was spent planning the first statewide MOPP tour to be held in Idaho.

Throughout the next few years, the MOPP continued to reach a diverse audience, including a 1996 partnership with Idaho environmental organizations and touring that state for two months. Later that year, the second demonstration encompassed a one-week tour of Nebraska and in 1997, the MOPP became very busy touring community colleges, trade associations and at environmental conferences and other public events around Iowa and other states. Tours have continued in Iowa and over 20 states since the MOPP® inception, and have in Iowa toured 63 counties. Most recently, the MOPP has demonstrated in the states of Michigan, New Jersey, Mississippi, Alabama and Montana.

Starting in the summer of 1999, the MOPP has had the opportunity to travel on the Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) with IWRC staff that, while biking from border to border, offer fellow RAGBRAI® riders information about and souvenirs from the IWRC. The MOPP promoted the MOPP and the IWRC during the bike ride as it traveled from large towns to small towns across the state, hitting our target market of Iowa small business owners.

The MOPP vehicle has proven itself a useful tool at the IWRC, traveling across the state and country teaching and demonstrating environmental compliance and pollution prevention to its visitors. Although the current vehicle is retiring, plans for continuing the MOPP service are in the works and more businesses will be undoubtedly assisted by this unique outreach medium.

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IWRC Named A Champion
By Kaylene Reilly
Public Relations Research Assistant

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) was established in June 1998 through an agreement signed by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The primary goal of the H2E effort is to educate health care professionals about pollution prevention opportunities available to hospitals and health care systems.

To achieve the program's goals, H2E initiative, calls for:

  • Virtually eliminating mercury-containing waste from health care facilities' waste streams by 2005
  • Reducing the overall volume of waste (both regulated and non-regulated waste) by 33 percent by 2005 and by 50 percent by 2010
  • Identifying hazardous substances for pollution prevention and waste reduction opportunities, including hazardous chemicals and persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants

The H2E effort is built upon the collaborative working relationship of a network of partners and their commitment to the goals of mercury elimination and waste volume and toxicity reduction in health care facilities.

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) was recently recognized as a Champion by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) for its commitment to assist hospitals and the health care industry identify pollution prevention and compliance opportunities. The Champion for Change program recognizes both organizations that improve their own environmental performance and assist other health care facilities to achieve national H2E goals.

The IWRC assists small (less than 500 employees) Iowa hospitals and health care facilities by identifying pollution prevention and compliance opportunities through on-site reviews. During an on-site with hospitals and health care facilities, IWRC representatives visit the facility and offer cost-effective suggestions to improve storage and disposal techniques. Mercury waste streams and the impact of toxins, as well as other pollution prevention ideas are also discussed.

For additional H2E information or to find out how the IWRC can help your health care facility, please call 1-800-422-3109 or visit www.iwrc.org/newhospital.cfm

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Knoxville Raceway: A New Vehicle for Assistance
By Traci McCollom
Public Relations Research Assistant

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) recently had the opportunity to visit the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, IA on Saturday, May 31. Earlier this spring, the IWRC was invited by Bruce Cox of Cox Design, a metal fabrication facility in Altoona, IA, to place a company logo, free of charge, on his sprint car that he races at the Knoxville Raceway. Cox offered this generous opportunity to the IWRC after he was provided with the valuable services of the center.

"Hopefully, by the sponsorship of the IWRC, more businesses will take advantage of the center’s services," Cox said.

In addition to the sponsorship, which included two small logo decals on the car, one large logo decal and the announcement of the IWRC over the loudspeaker twice during the races, the IWRC also promoted it’s services by displaying a booth before the races started. The display not only offered raceway attendees a chance to ask waste reduction specialists about the center, but was available to approximately 5,000 spectators who each passed the booth upon entrance to the raceway. The booth, as well as the sponsorship, was a great way for the IWRC to gain exposure to countless possible clients.

"Large numbers of the general public walked by the booth," commented Dan Nickey, an IWRC program manager who attended the event. "Those walking by were able to collect materials; the booth had good exposure because it was by the main gate."

Many possible clients stopped by the IWRC booth for information before the races, and the center expects to schedule on-site reviews from the experience.

"Any event that increases the amount of on-sites for the IWRC is invaluable," said Jim Olson, race attendee and on-site program manager for the center. "And the Knoxville races was not only entertaining, but also a great medium to get more people knowledgeable of the IWRC's services."

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Iowa Waste Exchange News

From Engine to Educational Tool
By Julie Plummer
IWE Resource Specialist, Area D

Julie Plummer
Julie Plummer

Late in the summer of 2002, American Honda Motor Company's Parts Distribution facility in Davenport, Iowa, contacted Eastern Iowa Community College District's (EICCD) Economic Development Department about the possibility of donating 115 complete motorcycle replacement engines to the college. American Honda's stipulation in making the engine donation was that the engines could be used only for educational purposes, and not as actual replacement engines for motorcycles.

With the help of IWE Resource Specialist Julie Plummer, the instructors at EICCD's new Manufacturing Tech Center in Davenport were thrilled at the prospect of using the engines as part of their vocation tech programs. Instruction opportunities were also available at EICCD's Scott, Clinton and Muscatine campuses. But 115 engines were well above the number of engines that EICCD could realistically use, so Julie set about finding other educational institutions with programs that might benefit from the engine donation.

One Northeast Iowa high school relayed that the engine donation would be particularly beneficial to them, as students were currently bringing lawn mower engines from home to use in their vocational tech classes. Kyle Keehner, Industrial Technology Department Instructor at Valley High School in Elgin, Iowa said, "The engine donation has enabled us to 'modernize' our stable of engines and give the kids a chance to see different ways an engine may be constructed."

Additionally, several members of the Nebraska Materials Exchange Program were in attendance at an IWE quarterly meeting, which provided an opportunity for reuse and recycling facilitators from Iowa and Nebraska to exchange information, share success stories, and discuss program information. After Julie indicated there was no stipulation from American Honda Motor Company to keep the engine donations within Iowa, they also sought educational institutions in Nebraska that might benefit from the engines. But they faced an obstacle that tends to be the stumbling block for many potential reuse/recycling situations: the transportation of materials from generator to reuse site.

After identifying Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska as an engine recipient, a unique solution to the transportation dilemma was developed. Students from the community college’s Truck Driver Training Program, nearing graduation and eager to put their new skills to use, made the run to Davenport to pick up 20 of the engines and transport them back to Lincoln, allowing for greater geographical distribution.

By offering reuse of the engines as educational tools, American Honda Motor Company avoided disposal costs for nearly 14 tons of material, and regained space in their facility where all the engines were stored. And with a total worth of nearly $279,000, the engines were welcome additions to small engine repair and other vocational courses offered by recipient institutions.

American Honda Motor Company Facility Manager Bob Braun commented, "Occasionally American Honda Motor Company authorizes the disposal of older, non-current parts which no longer have customer demand or are deemed un-sellable. When these situations arise, we always look at recycling with local recyclers. In this case the numerous older motorcycle engines became available and we immediately looked at local colleges and vocational schools that could use them for education and training purposes."

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Oodles of Noodles
By Julie Plummer
IWE Resource Specialist, Area D

Recently, an eastern Iowa warehouse facility discovered it had collected over 26,000 pounds of noodles as well as several hundred pounds of various flavorings that had become outdated and was no longer usable in manufacturing products for human consumption. In an effort to assist the owner in managing the outdated products, the warehousing company contacted IWE Representative Julie Plummer based out of Eastern Iowa Community College District in Davenport. Julie then contacted Ken McKay, President of Livestock Services.

Ken has consistently worked with IWE representatives throughout the state to reuse organic by-products and wastes as ingredients in livestock feed. Many types of organic materials, including protein sources, soy products, nuts, carbohydrate sources and peas, can be suitable for reuse as animal feed. But in addition to the nutrient value of the waste products, Ken must also consider factors such as bulk, ease of handling, transportation costs, and storage time when determining the reuse potential of food waste materials.

Ken was able to utilize the noodles, which provided carbohydrate energy for the feeder cattle it was fed to. Ken estimates that feeding the noodles to the cattle saved the producer $40 to $50 per ton, as opposed to feeding the cattle corn. However, Ken cautions, the producer also incurred more labor in reusing the materials. Handling boxes of materials and combining various materials is more difficult than going up to the bin auger and pushing a button and having corn come out, Ken states. So the producer has to be willing to expend a certain amount of time and effort to save money.

From Ken's perspective, the challenges in utilizing organic wastes include not only the logistics of customer handling issues versus the amount of money saved, but also determining which animals nutritional needs could best be met by the product.

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Old Cell Phones Help Polk County Seniors
By Dennis Hayworth
IWE Resource Specialist, Area E

Dennis Hayworth
Dennis Hayworth

The City of Ankeny called Dennis Hayworth, IWE Specialist at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in an attempt to find an outlet for unwanted cell phones. The City of Ankeny had 25 phones and chargers from an upgrade of their service plan and did not want to throw them away. Following discussions, Dennis set out to help Ankeny find an alternative method to disposal.

Dennis discovered that the Polk County Sheriff's Community Relations Department issues cell phone to senior citizens for use in emergency situations. The Sheriff's Department gladly accepted the donation and although the saving in disposal costs was not significant to the City of Ankeny, the value of these phones to needy senior citizens is immeasurable to Polk County.

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Used Lights Shine at Iowa Businesses
By John Koch
IWE Resource Specialist, Area F

John Koch
John Koch

Long term exposure to light on paper and ink results in the yellowing of paper and the dulling of colors. Wilhelm Imaging Research is a small company in Grinnell, Iowa that measures the effect light has on various inks and papers used in personal computer printers by exposing the printed paper to high output fluorescent lights for predetermined periods of time. As with any ongoing research project, consistency is important. Therefore, each time they begin a new test batch Wilhelm Imaging replaces all of the used fluorescent tubes in their testing units with new, full strength ones. The used tubes, although not as bright as new, generally still retain about 80 percent of their useful life.

IWE specialist John Koch learned of these tubes from a mutual business contact, and met with owner Henry Wilhelm to learn more about them. John discovered there were two types of F48T12 tubes, Cool White and High Output. To get the word out that these tubes were available, John put a message on the IWE listserve, contacted area schools and institutions, and listed them in the Closed Loop. Within a month, he was able to forward a list of five organizations interested in the lights.

For example, Western Iowa Tech Community College, through the efforts of IWE specialist Perry Nelson, took about 200 of the tubes and the City of Grinnell took the rest. In all, over 1,000 nearly new fluorescent tubes were made available for reuse. This saved Wilhelm Imaging the cost of disposing of the tubes and Western Tech and the city the costs of purchasing new ones.

High output tubes continue to be generated on a monthly basis, but with a list of interested markets at hand, Wilhelm's inventory of used tubes can be kept manageable.

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The Iowa Waste Exchange is a cooperative effort of Recycle Iowa/ Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Iowa Waste Reduction Center, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Community Colleges, Local Councils of Government and Iowa Solid Waste Agencies. The Exchange will not determine what may constitute a hazardous substance or create a hazardous situation. The Exchange will not make judgements with respect to any legal requirements, particularly for the storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of what may be defined as hazardous substances. For information about hazardous waste reduction and/or proper disposal, call the Department of Natural Resources Energy and Waste Management Bureau at (800) 367-1025 or the IWRC at (800) 422-3109.

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© Copyright 2007 Iowa Waste Reduction Center
A Service of Business and Community Services at the
University of Northern Iowa
Suite 113, BCS Building
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0185
phone: 319.273.8905
fax: 319.273.6582