1. No category

Household Hazardous Waste Technical Council Presents:
Refillable Gas Cylinders Webinar
Thursday, May 7, 2015
www.hhwtc.org
About the HHW Technical Council
CRRA’s HHW Technical Council is composed of household hazardous
waste professionals who are responsible to safely and cost effectively
manage HHW. The Technical Council provides a forum for discussion
and sharing of information about universal and hazardous waste
management. Participation in the HHW TC is open to both CRRA
members and non-members.
Visit www.hhwtc.org to learn more about the Technical Council and
the benefits of CRRA membership.
Today’s Panel
Alana Rivadeneyra, City of San José, Facilitator
Karen Gissibl, City of Sunnyvale
Problems with disposal of gas cylinders including costs and
concerns with explosion safety
Christine Flowers, California Product Stewardship Council
ReFuel Your Fun Campaign to increase purchase and use of
refillable one-pound gas cylinders
Josh Simpson, Kamps Propane/PickUp Propane
How to help retailers find solutions through sales and exchange
programs
Gas Cylinder
Costs/Concerns
May 7, 2015
CRRA
HHW Technical Council Webinar
Sunnyvale SMaRT Station
 Sunnyvale
Materials Recovery and
Transfer Station
 Partnership
with Palo Alto, Mountain View,
Sunnyvale since 1994
 175,000 tons of incoming waste annually
 Two sorting lines-garbage and curbside
recycling, plus floor sort
 25% diversion=MRF
 96+% diversion=recycling
 70 sorters
So what’s the issue?
We get thousands of gas cylinders at SMaRT!
9000 cylinders in 2014
(33% increase from previous year!)
96% of cylinders are propane
(2010/11 data)
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
-
4500
4000
Total # of single-use
cylinders (Both
Propane and MAPP)
Pounds
3500
96%
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
3%
# of MAPP
# of Propane
It’s expensive to get rid of them!
•
Used to send out of state which was
extremely costly:
•
•
•
$85,000 in 2010
$53,000 in 2011
Now have a CA solution:
•
•
•
$9,000 in 2014 (about $1/cylinder)
Gas removed, cut up, recycled
Can’t be reused (law)
And, they are incredibly dangerous!




Cylinders come to SMaRT
through both curbside and
garbage lines
Sorters are exposed to explosive
devices on line and bales
Baler fires/explosions can occur
causing dangerous fires (which
means sorters can’t work)
Loss of revenue for 40 bales of
paper in recent fire was $1800
2015 SMaRT fire-40 paper bales lost
California (and national) parks
are also getting thousands of
cylinders:



Yosemite handled
23,000 in 2014
Since economic
downturn, the number
has increased
And is going up every
year…
Which means every cylinder is
handled for safe disposal:

Special collection containers
at all garbage areas

Weighed/punctured by
volunteers


Empties get recycled
(Yellowstone National Park
recycled 6 tons in 2013)
Partially filled ones get reused
by Search and Rescue
Other uses of cylinders:
 Sporting
events
(aka tailgating!)
 Plumbing
 Jewelry
making
 Lawn/gardening
Emerging safety issue




DTSC reports increase in number
of explosions and abandoned
cylinders stemming from use of
butane gas to extract THC from
marijuana
8 reports of labs and 1 cylinder in
2013 vs 50 labs and 18
abandoned cylinders in 2014
Jurisdictions reporting increase in
disposal (both illegally on
roadside and at MRFs)
Not just rural areas, all over CA
Single use butane cylinders
Contact info:
Karen Gissibl
Environmental Programs Manager
Solid Waste Division
City of Sunnyvale
408.730.7277
kgissibl@sunnyvale.ca.gov
ReFuel Your Fun
Campaign
Christine Flowers
California Product Stewardship Council
What We Will Cover
• Who is California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC)
• What is Extended Producer Responsibility
(EPR)/Product Stewardship
• Grant Project
• The Problem: Disposables
• The Solution: Refillables
• Propane Gas Cylinder Recycling and Educational
Outreach in Canada
• What You Can Do to Join the Refuel Your Fun
Campaign!
Who is California Product Stewardship Council?
CPSC Board and Organization
• Non-Profit 501(c)(3)
• 14 Member Board
-5 of 14 are private sector members
• Seat open – Could be local government or private
sector – application process – e-mail Heidi@calpsc.org
Lynn France, Chula Vista
Chair
Sean Bigley, Roseville
Vice-Chair
Patty Garbarino, Marin Sanitary Service
Secretary
Gretchen Olsen, Stockton
Treasurer
What is EPR/Product Stewardship?
Extended
Producer
Responsibility
(EPR)
© Product Stewardship Institute
HHW HD 23 Grant Funding
Project Goal:
“for residents to switch from using disposable single use
one pound propane cylinders to refillable one pound
cylinders and to encourage retail locations to sell refillable
one pound propane cylinders, with the potential of
providing refill or exchange services.”
From the City of Sunnyvale grant work plan
The Problem: Disposables
Photo from lpgasmagazine.com, 1/5/12
 Manufactured to be used
ONCE and thrown “away”
Photo from Kamps Propane, Yosemite National Park
40 million cylinders sold in North America each
year - over four million in CA alone!
Who is bearing the disposal costs? 
The Problem: Disposables are CO$TLY
• 80% of the cost is the package (cylinder)
while 20% is the gas
• Difficult and labor intensive to recycle,
costly to local governments and parks
• ~$1.25/cylinder to recycle
 ~$5.95 new
Factors contributing to the increased use of one-pound
propane gas cylinders
• Multi-family housing units
banning larger propane cylinders
from their premises
• Drought conditions have led to parks
banning wood and charcoal fires
The Solution: REFILLABLES
The Solution CONTINUED
Photo from Manchester Tank Website
Photo from Kamps Propane
Photo from Kamps Propane
The Solution: REFILLABLES Save Money
One refillable can
save an average of
$320 over their
12-year life span
Propane Gas Cylinder Recycling in Canada
Ontario: Orange Drop Program
• Provides residents with a free, safe
and easy way to dispose of household
products that require special handling
• Accepts nine products, including
propane cylinders
• Fully funded by industry
• Refillables are available in Canada
• http://www.makethedrop.ca
Photo from Orange Drop website
Propane Gas Cylinder Recycling in Canada (cont.)
Orange Drop Program
• 2011: Collection of gas
cylinders begins
• 2011: 224,871 lbs of onepound propane cylinders
collected and recycled from
the Ontario Parks
Photo from Stewardship Ontario 2011 Annual Report
• 400 Orange Drop cages
accepts propane cylinders in
85 Ontario Parks
“Green” Camping Tip from Ontario Parks

“Consider using a refillable
fuel canister”
How Can You Refuel Your Fun?
Like the Facebook page and follow
Share stories of use and pictures
Articles in your newsletters, websites etc….
Ask local stores that sell disposables to offer
sell/refill/exchange
• Promote stores selling/refilling/exchanging
• Ask retailers/product manufacturers selling
devices fueled by propane to promote refillables
•
•
•
•
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
https://www.facebook.com/RefuelYourFun
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
www.RefuelYourFun.org
County of Santa Cruz Curbsider, January 2015
Sunnyvale reNews, Spring 2015
Article referencing the Little Kamper,
Amador Ledger Dispatch December 2014
2015 Advertisement, Mariposa County
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
 Front
Back 
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
Scooter equipped with a NON-REFILLABLE one-pound propane cylinder,
geeky-gadgets.com
Scooter using a refillable one-pound propane cylinder
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
Propane insect fogger,
doyourownpestcontrol.com
Propane heater in golf cart,
Sportsmanguide.com
Propane powered ice drill,
jiffyonice.com
Propane fueled lantern,
midwayusa.com
Boat motor, newenglandboating.com
Mini weed torch, leevalley.com
Chef’s torch, nutgraf.com
How Can You Refuel Your Fun? (cont.)
Personally use refillables and be an agent of change!
Josh Simpson
Kamps Propane
America cooks outdoors with propane
Pro
Con
Profit margin
Customer loyalty
Permitting
Upfront expense
Liability / safety
Labor / training
Expiring tanks
Con
Pro
Lower profit margin
Convenience
Simple permitting
Low upfront expense
Modest liability
Simple training
Expired tanks = sale!
Blue Rhino – Ferrellgas – national
Lowe’s, Safeway, OSH
PPX – Amerigas – national
Home Depot
Pick Up Propane – Kamps Propane (CA, NV, AZ)
independent retail stores, regional accounts
Liquid Petroleum Gas Code
NFPA 58 is the code adopted by States
and Counties for the storage and
handling of liquid propane.
1-5 Qualification of Personnel.
Persons who transfer liquid LP-Gas,
who are employed to transport LP-Gas,
or whose primary duties fall within the
scope of this code shall be trained in
proper handling procedures. The
training shall be documented.
4-2.2 Containers to Be Filled or Evacuated.
4-2.2.1 In the interest of safety, transfer of LPGas to and from a container shall be
accomplished only by qualified persons
trained in proper handling and operating
procedures meeting the requirements of
Section 1-5 and in emergency response
procedures.
4-2.2.5 Cylinders authorized as
"single trip," "nonrefillable,"or
"disposable" cylinders shall not be
refilled with LP-Gas.
NFPA 58 allows for the indoor
storage of cylinders containing
not more than 16oz of propane.
The maximum allowable
number of cylinders is 200.
Questions?
Save The Date!
FREE Webinar on Sharps
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 10 – 11:30am PST
http://hhwtc.org/