Environmental stewardship a top priority to AEDC

Published Feb. 8, 2016
By Deidre Ortiz
AEDC/PA

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. -- The Arnold Engineering Development Complex here has a commitment to environmental stewardship, and whether at work or at home, personnel are encouraged to do their part to lessen their carbon footprint by recycling. The recycling program assists the Complex in meeting the recent Make Every Dollar Count effort, a top-priority of the Secretary of the Air Force. MEDC is aimed at minimizing cost, harnessing efficiencies and redefining legacy Air Force business paradigms.

According to information provided by AEDC Test Support Division, if everyone at Arnold recycled, it would prevent more than 550 pounds of trash per person a year from ending up in a landfill. This amounts to more than 1.2 million pounds of trash annually, which is equivalent to $110,000 in landfill costs.

To ensure all military installations are doing their part, the Department of Defense has put in place a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan goal of diverting 55 percent of non-hazardous solid waste and 100 percent of electronics waste. AEDC is also limited on the amount of garbage that can be sent to landfill and is penalized $210 per ton for disposal of trash collected in dumpsters above that limit. Recycling assists in keeping the Complex within limits.

Jerry Rice, AEDC Recycling Center manager, said that Arnold has been meeting, and even exceeding, the SSPP diversion goal and is working to continue this trend.

"We divert an average of 65 percent of non-hazardous solid waste from being sent to area landfills," he said.

For fiscal 2015, 68 tons of cardboard, 25 tons of mixed paper, approximately 20 tons of types 1 and 2 plastics, and 1,000 pounds of toner cartridges were collected.

While Recycling Center personnel are diligent in their efforts, decreasing the amount of recyclables being thrown away requires the diligence and participation from everyone on base.

"We try to make recycling easy," Rice said. "Bins are at every building and if there's a full bin or large items needing pick up, people can feel free to call us and let us know. We're happy to help."

Through the AEDC Recycling Program, recycle containers for mixed paper, cardboard, aluminum cans and certain plastics are provided at most facilities. The bins for paper, cans and plastics are typically collected on a once-weekly basis with cardboard containers being emptied twice a week. Wooden pallets are also taken to the Recycling Center, with broken pallets scrapped and the useable ones saved and returned to Warehouse 1.

Rice asks base personnel to assist him and his crew by making sure only what is listed on the recycling containers gets tossed in there.

"This helps out tremendously by saving time sorting so that we can spend more of our time collecting the bins," he said.