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Municipal Energy Office, City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Green Lights Program in 1994 to reduce electric demand in 90 percent of targeted city-owned facilities within five years. The retrofitted lamps and ballasts generated substantial quantities of mercury, lead and polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB's). However, the Green Lights Program failed to adequately address procedures for disposal of those hazardous materials in such large quantities. Potential Superfund liability, the need to reduce disposal costs and the city's aggressive recycling policy, compelled the city to explore recycling old ballasts as an alternative to disposal. The city's Municipal Energy Office (MEO) issued two citywide bids for lamp and ballast recycling. The MEO worked closely with other city agencies, including the Environmental Law Team, Risk Management, Mayor's Office of Management and Productivity, Managing Directors Office, Philadelphia Fire Department's HAZMAT team, Philadelphia Airport, Procurement Department, Streets Department and other government agencies such as the Department of Environmental Protection and EPA to accomplish the complex task of writing and awarding government bid specifications. Since beginning this process, the city has recycled materials from the library retrofits, including 63,140 pounds of copper, 36,162 pounds of PCBs, 15,498 pounds of iron, 17,577 pounds of glass, 3,101 pounds of aluminum, 9 pounds of phosphor and 3 pounds of mercury. Receipt of recycling reports from the police and fire facilities' retrofits is pending. In 1997, the MEO sponsored a recycling conference through the Greater Philadelphia Recycling Committee targeting lamp, ballast and battery recycling companies in an effort to attract one to the region. One company that expressed an interest in locating in the city met with a team comprised of MEO, the Mayor's Business Action Team (MBAT), the Commerce Department, the Economic Development Council, the Private Industry Council of Philadelphia, and various other groups. MBAT is currently working with the company to find a suitable location. Bringing a ballast recycling company into Philadelphia will further reduce the cost of recycling both for the city and others.
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Municipal Energy
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