City of Thibodaux Zoning Review - South Central Planning ...

Thibodaux Zoning Review 2010Recycling OperationsWaste management is always a heated issue. Every communitygenerates waste, but few want to provide for its disposal intown. Living near a waste reduction or landfill operation cancause both perceived and real nuisance problems and healthconcerns for nearby residents. Deciding to locate a waste reductionor disposal site involves great scrutiny, including analysis ofenvironmental conditions, soils, etc., and while these operationsare strictly regulated by the state, they may be subject to localzoning considerations. Waste disposal sites are typically allowedin heavy industrial sites or may require special permits or only beallowed as “conditioned uses.”Recyclable items are part of the waste stream, too. There is agreat interest in promoting recycling as a way to reduce the wastestream. Recycling is typically separated into nonhazardous andhazardous activities. There are also several steps in the process ofcollecting the recyclable material and its return to market. Thelocation within any specific zoning district will depend on thenature of the activity and the materials being handled.Placement of recycling bins at convenient locations is usuallynot a problem. This is a convenience to residents who want toengage in recycling and bins can be placed at central locationsto collect recyclable items like newspapers, plastic or glass. Recyclingbins are not usually considered a nuisance as residentssupport this activity. Bins however should be placed at locationsthat have adequate ingress and egress and that have somesupervision in order to avoid overflow of waste or problems withillegal dumping of non-acceptable items. Location of recyclingbins at public facilities like government complexes or schools iscommon, but commercial enterprises are often willing to offerspace for bins as a community service. Recycling bins are onlydesigned for municipal household items like paper, plastics,etc. These do not normally accept liquid materials at all nor dothey take hazardous recyclables like paint, aerosol cans, oil, tires,grease, large cardboard boxing materials, etc. Some communitiespartner with waste handlers to collect such items on communitywide clean up days and some stores accept such materials fromtheir customers as a convenience but also because they may getcredit from suppliers for the item or it may be a requirement ofthe store’s operation, as is frequently seen with used automobiletires or batteries. The stores transfer the recyclable waste on tocompanies that recycle the materials. Stores that accept recyclablematerials don’t hold them for long but they should alwaysbe contained and stored in a safe, preferably indoor space.The next step in a recycling process might be a transferstation. This is similar to a waste transfer station where smalltrucks bring the collected waste to a station where it is thenplaced on larger trucks that haul the waste greater distances toa landfill or other waste disposal or reduction site. This providesthe ability to have smaller trucks on neighborhood streets andstill reduce the cost of waste collection, as transportation is aprimary cost in the waste collection and disposal process. Thesefacilities are normally located within very heavily commercializedor light industrial sites. Recyclers may use this method,too, to consolidate long trips to the location of the next phaseof the operation, separation of recyclable elements into separatestreams. Even though the waste is not stored on site, it is likelythat nuisance odors and the constant flow of large trucks wouldinterfere with the neighborhood commercial or residential life.Recyclable materials are normally brought to a warehousestyle facility and off loaded there into indoor separation systems.A variety of methods may be used, but often times the items aredumped onto large conveyor belts and hand separated into plastics,paper, glass, aluminum and so on. This is an assembly lineprocess that is similar to many other light industrial activities.Materials may be semi-processed for transport by separating,shredding, bundling and/or compressing into packages of similarsize. The materials are then loaded on to other trucks and transportedto a client who wants to purchase the used material toconvert into a product for resale. Materials may be temporarilystored onsite until sold to a client. The bulk of the activity takesplace indoors and is largely unseen by the general public. Butagain, the movement of large trucks in and out of the facilityand the potential for nuisance noise and odors would probablyrequire such a facility to be located in the most heavily commercializedor light industrial locations.The process described thus far is one that pertains tohousehold recyclables not considered hazardous wastes. Otherpreliminary separation activities may be performed on hazardousmaterials or ones that have the potential to cause contamination.Commercial and industrial recycling no doubt involves otherrequirements that might be regulated much more stringently.Recycling used oil products for example may involve other stepsnot described herein.The final step in the process would be converting the newrecycled material into a marketable product, recycled paperusually goes back to the paper mill where it is added into thepaper making process, glass and plastics may be separated bycolor and melted back into a liquid form and included in othermanufacturing operations. These kinds of operations should beconsidered manufacturing operations as a product is being madefrom a new raw material. The industrial classification the specificactivity would fall in will vary from one community to the next assome communities have one industrial or manufacturing districtand others have varying levels of industrial classifications.Under the Louisiana Revised Statutes it appears that therecycling manufacturing operation is treated as solid waste facilities.The city may want to have its attorney research this shouldit be interested in developing standards for recycling faculties.32