TYNDALL AIR FORCE, Fla. --
The 325th Civil Engineer Squadron conducted a solid waste audit April 6 through 10, revealing a slight increase in recyclables and hazardous waste items found since the last inspection.
"The audit is an inspection of the contents of the base dumpsters," said Edwin Wallace, 325th CES pollution prevention program manager. "It is conducted by getting in the dumpsters, removing all bags, sorting through loose items and removing, weighing and documenting the items that should not be there. The recyclables are turned in at the Base Recycling Center, and the hazardous waste is turned in to the base Hazardous Waste Storage Facility."
It is conducted semi-annually to coincide with America Recycles Day, Nov. 15, and Earth Day, April 22.
"The purpose is to document how much of the material we are disposing of, as garbage, could have been recycled or should have been disposed of as hazardous waste," said Wallace. "We did worse on the current audit by 450 pounds based off the amount of material removed and how much we had to leave because of contamination. The biggest concern was the large amount of hazardous waste found in the dumpsters because it could lead to regulatory fines and penalties for the base."
Some of the hazardous waste found were aerosol spray cans, aircraft sealant, aircraft paint, lithium batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, used oil, electronic equipment and computer keyboards.
There is a Defense Department diversion goal that federal facilities should be recycling 55 percent of its solid waste, he added. That goal will increase to 60 percent by 2018 and 65 percent by 2020, currently Tyndall recycles 27 to 30 percent of solid waste.
"Last calendar year we recycled 1,598 tons of materials and disposed of 2,104 tons of garbage during the same time frame," said Wallace. "We earned $214,000 by selling the recyclables. Since the recycling program is self-sustaining, all money collected is used to pay employee salaries, maintain equipment and purchase supplies."
The center recycles plastic, aluminum cans, cardboard, all paper to include white, colored, shredded, newspaper, magazines and books, lead-acid batteries, scrap metal and wire to include appliances refrigerators, water heaters and HVACS, and used oil.
"We can improve if people take a few extra seconds to place items in the recycling containers instead of the garbage," said Wallace. "Every dumpster on base has a sticker notifying what items cannot go in the dumpster."
Each building has a centralized collection point for recyclables, he added. There are also 50 trailers around base which recyclables can be placed, as long as loose items are bagged.
"We also have two drop off-locations; one is across the street from Burger King behind the old Base Exchange Shoppette; the other one is in the parking lot in front of Hanger 3, building 156," said Wallace. "Scrap metal, lead-acid batteries and used oil must be taken to the Recycling Center, building 6035."
Recycling is important not only to Tyndall, but the Air Force as a whole.
"Recycling is not just a nice thing to do, it is mandatory for all federal facilities," said Wallace. "Just about everything we use except for food scraps can be recycled. The audit showed me that we are throwing money away by not recycling and leaving the base open for regulatory penalties by improperly disposing of hazardous waste."
For more information about the Base Recycling Program contact Wallace via email at edwin.wallace.1@us.af.mil or via phone at (850) 283-4346.
Dexter Siples, 325th CES environmental technician, echoed his sentiment.
"These audits give us a snapshot of how well we are doing, and most importantly where we need to improve," he said. "Recycling is about saving precious resources and ensuring a better tomorrow for the next generations."