|
|
 Air
filters: Many of the air filters used in KCDOT cars, trucks, vans,
buses and heavy equipment are cleaned and re-used.
Asphalt: So far in 2005, the Roads Maintenance Section disposed
of a total of 5,098 cubic yards of asphalt and concrete through
recycling vendors. The division also purchases recycled asphalt and
concrete material, and reuses asphalt concrete from its
grinder for road base material for repairs or as a top-layer for
gravel roads. Sometimes the materials being removed can be ground
on-site and re-used immediately in the road base.
Batteries: When the divisions are done with vehicle batteries,
they are returned to the vendors to be taken apart so the components can
be recycled.
Building materials: When the historic passenger terminal at King
County International Airport was remodeled, recycled materials were used
including the
original bricks. When buildings were demolished on Sixth Avenue
South to make way for expansion of two Metro Transit bases, more than
30,000 tons of building materials were recycled on this project alone
and some were re-used in the expansion.
Bus shelters: Bus shelters take a lot of abuse – both from the
natural elements and vandals. But, many pieces have a second life. Bus
shelter windows are actually two safety-glass panels attached to a sheet
of laminate in the middle. So, when one side breaks, the panel is still
safe for decorative uses. Shelter benches can often be rebuilt, and
sometimes they are sent to a non-profit used building materials store
that has an agreement with King County. Fleet has also auctioned off
entire shelters, which have been bought to be used as outdoor smoking
shelters.
Cement, rocks & gravel: Old concrete from bridges and roads gets
a second life when it is crushed into smaller sizes and re-used as a
fill material. The rocks that made up a bulkhead at Quartermaster Harbor
on Vashon Island were removed and then 10 years later reused to rebuild
a streambed on the island. KCDOT is also exploring how is can use slag
cement, a cheaper by-product of cement production, in some of its
projects.
Electronics & office supplies: County auctions managed by the
Fleet Division routinely recycle surplus and out-of-date electronic
components. KCDOT offices also recycle office paper, newspaper, toner
cartridges, batteries (rechargeable and alkaline), fluorescent lights,
computer discs, cell phones, and all sorts of office supplies.
Fallen trees & woody debris: In the spring, the Roads Division
will often hold a winter clean-up day to grind up all the broken
branches, small trees and other debris blown down on county roads and
right-of-way. The wood chips are then used for erosion control, hillside
stabilization, and other projects. If possible, crews will salvage large
blow-downs and stockpile them to be used in stream restoration and
mitigation projects. When the beach near the Dockton Seawall was
restored, Roads staff had more than 20 large trees on hand to complete
the project.
Mercury switches: In recent years, Fleet Administration removed
more than 400 mercury switches from vehicles before they are surplused.
Mercury is highly toxic and human exposure to mercury can occur from
eating mercury contaminate fish. The county received the 2005 NACo Award
for this initiative.
Motor oil and antifreeze: The Roads Division purchased waste-oil
burners to be used in space heaters in their maintenance shops. This
uses up almost 100 percent of motor oil from maintenance vehicles on
site. Transit recycles more than 85,000 gallons of motor oil a year
through a vendor. All KCDOT divisions purchase re-refined oil whenever
possible. The divisions also buy re-refined anti-freeze to use in
passenger vehicles and heavy equipment.
Paint: At the Roads sign shop, waste paint is dumped into a large
tote and shipped back to the manufacturer, who remixes it into new
batches.
Plastic lumber: A variety of plastics can be mixed and turned into
plastic lumber. Roads orders plastic side boards for all trucks in order
to conserve the Douglas fir that is usually used on truck sides. A small
amount of plastic lumber is also used in bus shelters.
Rain: Yes, KCDOT even recycles the natural elements. At the Roads
maintenance yard on Vashon Island,
two 1,000-gallon cisterns have been installed. Water collected is
used for asphalt rollers, sweepers and irrigation. There is a similar,
smaller system at the yard in Maple Valley.
Road signs: Some signs are too damaged to be re-used, but ones in
good shape are sent to a state prison to be stripped of surface paint
and stickers. The stripped signs are sent back to the Roads Division and
re-painted to be used again. The damaged ones are often chopped up and
used to make small metal cleats that anchor the signposts to the ground.
“Rumber” (rubber decking): KCDOT divisions are ordering more and
more equipment that comes with coming non-slip decking made from
recycled rubber, which means a lot fewer tires are ending up in
landfills.
Road signs: Sign posts are either made from pressure-treated wood
or metal. Even when the wood posts break, they are still usually more
than 10 feet long and a very popular item at the county auctions with
people who want to use them for fence posts and landscaping. Roads files
down the broken metal posts to be used as the framing for barricade
signs.
Solids: Last year, Transit recycled more than 200 tons of educted
solids, also known as the goop that gets sucked out of stormwater drains
and industrial sumps. It was sent to a manufacturer to be incorporated
into concrete. This is also the same method for disposing of used
sandblast grit after it is too fine to be re-used in the blasting booth.
Steel: Scrap steel from the Roads and Transit divisions is also a
popular auction item. Even though there is lead paint on the steel
removed from some of the older bridges, the lead and other impurities
can be separated when the steel is melted down for new uses.
Tires: Whenever possible, the divisions buy re-treaded tires. In
Roads, this happens primarily with heavy equipment, because that’s where
the greatest cost savings occur. Metro actually leases tires for buses,
which is a common practice for transit agencies. When the tire is worn,
it is sent to the leasing agent for re-treading or to be turned into
scrap rubber for other projects. Last year, Metro sent 3,475 tires to be
re-treaded, and an additional 2,600 went to a tire recycler to used as
“rumber” (see above) and other recycled projects.
Vehicle parts: When a fleet of buses is replaced, the old buses
are either kept as spares, scavenged for their parts, or sold at
auction. When the buses are too far gone for those options, they are
sold as scrap metal. Metro has a whole warehouse of parts that have been
rehabbed and are ready to keep on ticking. Fleet and Roads also
stockpile and rebuild vehicle parts, primarily alternators and starters.
Wood pallets & scraps: Wood pallets, shipping cases and scraps
have been a tough recycling puzzle, but both Roads and Transit have come
up with recent innovations. Roads uses “wood straw” made from pallets
for environmental projects where hay could introduce weeds or invasive
grasses into a sensitive site. Transit staff has found that if you
carefully break down the shipping crates, the slats are popular in the
IMEX catalog to be re-used in
homemade projects.
|
