WILMINGTON – DNREC’s Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances and the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation invite the public to join in an event at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18 showcasing established sustainable landscaping at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation shipyard, 1124 East 7th Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. The event will feature Dr. Sue Barton, associate professor and extension specialist at the University of Delaware, who will discuss the importance of using native species to create a sustainable landscape, such as the bioswale at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation site, which was planted one year ago and already graces the former Brownfield site.

Speakers also will include Marjorie Crofts, director of DNREC’s Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances, who will speak on the Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment of the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation site; and Matt Sarver of Sarver Ecological, LLC, who will provide information on the native plants used at the site. Site tours and information about sustainable landscaping projects also will be available at the event.

“The Brownfields redevelopment of the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation shipyard and the sustainable landscaping of the bioswale area is a real testament to the dedication of so many people, most notably, Dr. Sue Barton and Matt Sarver, who donated their services in designing the plantings,” said DNREC Deputy Secretary Kara Coats. “This was a huge collaborative effort, using pick axes and augers, as well as shovels and a lot of sweat in height of the summer heat to achieve the planting of over 4,000 wildflower and grass plants, along with 400 shrubs and trees at the site.”

“DNREC’s strong partnership with the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation and their commitment to the conservation and stewardship of our historic, cultural and environmental resources, has resulted in the sustainable landscaping at the site, now established beautifully for all Delawareans and visitors to enjoy,” Coats added.

The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation shipyard is the ship’s home port and site of the foundation’s maritime center and educational programming. It is adjacent to the landing place of the original Kalmar Nyckel, a Dutch-built merchant vessel which led a group of ships that brought the first Swedish and Finnish settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638. Built, maintained and operated by the Foundation as a re-creation of the original 17th century ship, the current Kalmar Nyckel was recognized as Delaware’s official “Tall Ship” by Governor Jack Markell in a formal bill signing Sept. 9.

The many volunteers who participated in the massive planting of native species at the shipyard site include DNREC’s Site Investigation and Restoration Section (SIRS) staff, who administer the Brownfields Development Program; members of the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) Advisory Committee’s Ecological Revitalization and Green Remediation Subcommittee; Kalmar Nyckel volunteers and staff, and EA Engineering, Science, and Technology staff, who co-designed and managed the project for SIRS.

The shipyard is a Brownfield site owned by the City of Wilmington that was cleaned up through Delaware’s Brownfields Development Program, which is administered by DNREC’s Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances. The approximately 2.2-acre site was formerly part of the Jackson and Sharp American Car Foundry railcar manufacturing and shipping operations. Remediation activities were completed in 2015. “The sustainable landscaping project was developed to demonstrate the economic and aesthetic value of landscaping with native plants on Brownfields and other remedial sites,” Director Crofts noted, “but the completed project has far exceeded initial expectations.”

“This project has become quite a success story, demonstrating the value of supporting native wildlife on small sites, especially in urban areas, as well as providing quality of life benefits for nearby residents, with the enhanced aesthetics and presence of native wildlife that go hand-in-hand with native plantings,” Crofts said. “Our work here takes Brownfields development to a new level of environmental protection by not just removing or sequestering contaminants under pavement or soil/lawn, but actually beginning to revitalize the local ecosystem, making the site truly productive in an ecological, as well as an economic sense.”

This fall, it is easy to see how the native plantings at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation site are already successful in attracting large numbers of butterflies and other beneficial insects. These in turn are expected to support increased populations of native birds in future years. SIRS and the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation will be studying the site as the plantings become more established to document wildlife usage, as well as the maintenance costs and the ecological and quality-of-life benefits of urban redevelopment.

For more information about sustainable landscaping, including the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation project, please contact Kate Durant at 302-395-2600 or email Kathryn.Durant@delaware.gov.

For more information about the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, visit https://kalmarnyckel.org/.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 346

-30-

DOVER – DNREC Secretary David Small has issued a Notice of Administrative Penalty and Secretary’s Order to Formosa Plastics Corporation for violations of Delaware’s laws and regulations governing hazardous waste management, with Formosa Plastics ordered to pay a penalty of $241,013 along with $3,563 in cost recovery for the department.

Formosa Plastics Corp. operates a polyvinyl chloride resin manufacturing facility at 780 Schoolhouse Road in Delaware City. As a result of its operations, the facility is designated by DNREC as a large-quantity generator of hazardous waste.

On June 27, 2016, DNREC representatives conducted a compliance assessment at Formosa’s Delaware City facility. The assessment identified seven violations of Delaware’s Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste, including failure to properly label and date 89,097 pounds of off-specification polyvinyl chloride (PVC) solids in approximately 71 “super-sack” bags. PVC solids are hazardous due to their vinyl chloride content, which is considered highly toxic, flammable and carcinogenic.

Additionally, Formosa Plastics, after failing to ship the waste offsite within the required 90 days, was cited for operating a hazardous waste storage facility without a permit. The company also failed to make a hazardous waste determination on spent filters generated from the puncturing of aerosol cans; failed to post a “No Smoking” sign near ignitable wastes, and failed to properly close a container of used oil generated by maintenance activities. Based on the assessment, a Notice of Administrative Penalty and Secretary’s Order has been issued to Formosa Plastics Corporation.

Formosa previously incurred similar violations before entering into a consent decree with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on June 28, 2005. The consent decree included a penalty of $450,000 plus and an investment of $842,847 in supplemental environmental projects undertaken by Formosa. During subsequent inspections conducted by USEPA and DNREC in 2012 and 2014, Formosa incurred additional violations relating to the mismanagement of PVC solids and on Sept. 17, 2015 was fined an additional $112,500 by USEPA.

The Secretary’s Order can be found on the DNREC website at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.

Formosa Plastics Corporation has 30 days to appeal the Secretary’s Order.

CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 352

-30-

Assessments encouraged for scheduling ahead of Sept. 30 Universal Recycling grant and low interest loan application deadline

DOVER – DNREC’s Recycling Team in the Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances is providing a valuable Universal Recycling preview in the form of free onsite waste assessments to organizations and schools in Delaware who might want to apply for recycling grants or low-interest loans offered this year by DNREC. The deadline for applying is Sept. 30 (moved up from an original Nov. 3 deadline), and the Recycling Team believes it behooves all applicants to get a waste assessment to make their application more focused and attractive for landing grant awards or low-interest loans for their company or school’s recycling program.

The assessments are made at no cost and can be arranged with a quick touch of the telephone keypad – the recycling team responds with expediency in doing an assessment that is certain to augment a school or business’s grant application for helping fund its recycling program or to launch a new wastttttprogram.

“DNREC’s waste assessment consists of a walk-through of your school, workplace or business,” said Don Long, Recycling Team outreach lead. “We can accommodate any number of staff members that your organization wishes to have present during the assessment. The assessment will indicate what’s needed to make recycling both easy and effective for your organization and staff, both inside and outside your facility. It’s as easy and simple as that! Call us today to schedule a free onsite waste assessment (302-739-9403, ext. 8) and let us help your organization become a successful Delaware recycler.”

The onsite waste assessments are a first step in the process of enabling schools, businesses, offices, municipalities and other interested entities to begin and/or expand their recycling efforts. Once a call is made to the Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances (302-739-9403, ext. 8), a DNREC Recycling Team member will arrange and schedule an onsite waste assessment for a day and time that best suits an organization’s schedule to learn more about recycling programs in Delaware – and DNREC’s Recycling Grant and Low Interest loan program, which awards funds twice a year for recycling projects throughout the state.

For one such assessment at Dover High School, the DNREC Recycling Team’s technical assistance consisted of the facility walk-through, followed by an analysis of Dover High’s waste stream, and the school’s waste management practices. DNREC made recommendations on recycling container size, color, and locations for placement throughout the school grounds, and also provided outreach and education examples for more effective communication about how to recycle. School staff was reminded that, in many cases, setting up an effective waste reduction program, when combined with increased recycling, results in decreased trash volumes and the potential for significant waste disposal savings. The overarching message is that recycling is often less expensive than trash disposal.

For more information about the Universal Recycling grant awards and low-interest loan program, please visit the Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances website or call the Recycling Team at 302-739-9403, ext. 8

CONTACT: Jackie Howard or Don Long, DNREC Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances Recycling Program, 302-739-9403, ext. 8

Vol. 46, No. 327

-30-

Public workshops scheduled for September 6, 7 and 14

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances will hold three public workshops next month across the state to introduce draft Universal Recycling Regulations for Delaware. The informal workshops will be held in each county, offering the public an opportunity to have the draft regulations explained and to hear about the purposes behind the new regulations, as well as discussing current issues related to universal recycling compliance.

The places, dates and locations for the workshops are:

• New Castle County – Tuesday, Sept. 6, Bear Library, 101 Governor’s Place, Bear, DE 19701
• Sussex County – Wednesday, Sept. 7, DNREC Lewes Field Office, 901 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE 19958
• Kent County – Wednesday, Sept. 14, DNREC Auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway SW, Dover DE 19901

All workshops will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The purpose of the proposed regulations is to ensure that collection services for recyclable materials are consistent with the law; that collected recyclable materials are not landfilled or incinerated; that recyclable materials are properly processed and enter the marketplace; that recycling in Delaware can be effectively measured; and that waste diversion is maximized through the reduction of solid waste deposited in the state’s landfills.

DNREC encourages all interested parties to attend, including waste service providers, property managers, and the commercial sector.

For more information please contact Don Long at 302-739-9403 (ext.8) or by email at donald.long@delaware.gov.

Vol. 46, No. 320

NOTE: Application deadline for grants and loans has been moved up to Friday, Sept. 30

DOVER – To help Delaware’s schools, businesses and institutions start recycling programs or expand programs that are already in place, DNREC is offering the second round of 2016 Universal Recycling Grants and Low Interest Loan Program funding. Applications are due by 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 – please note that the deadline for applications has been moved forward by DNREC’s Recycling Team from the original due date of Nov. 2.

DNREC, in collaboration with the Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC), is again placing emphasis on:

• Distribution of preapproved recycling instructional information to influence positive recycling behaviors at the point where recyclable material is generated and disposed of (e.g. kitchen, office, workplace, recycling bin, cart, dumpster);
• Recycling outreach – which covers recycling advertising, education, and related initiatives;
• School or university recycling programs;
• Source-separated food waste recycling infrastructure development, and
• Business, non-profit, community organization, or local government recycling programs

Other proposed activities that fall outside of priorities listed above are also considered. Creativity is encouraged and all eligible applications will be given consideration to the extent that program resources allow. RPAC and DNREC’s Recycling Program emphasize that applicants for grants and low-interest loans do not need to be a recycling expert to put forward a recycling grant proposal.

“DNREC’s grant and loan program is again geared toward helping schools and businesses save money and reduce their environmental footprint by recycling in Delaware,” said DNREC Secretary David Small. “We want the grants to help businesses and organizations double the recycling rate across the commercial sector and achieve statewide goals for Universal Recycling championed by Governor Markell. We’re now closer to another goal – of every Delawarean having access to recycling at home, at work, at school and at play – making recycling a way of life in the First State.”

Although this is the second application offering this year, it is the eighth grant cycle since the grant and loan program began in 2011. DNREC is anticipating a strong interest in Cycle 8 and has slated the acceptance of applications for this round through Sept. 30.  Again, please note that the deadline for applicants to submit proposals has changed to Sept. 30 after originally having been announced as Nov. 2.

Application forms and the guidance document for the grants and low interest loans are available at: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/dwhs/Pages/RecyclingGrants.aspx, or via Delaware’s recycling website at www.recycling.delaware.gov. Applicants are advised to read the guidance document prior to submitting their proposals. Though most applicants request grant funding, low-interest loans are also available. Grant applicants who may be partially awarded are also eligible for loans to supplement their project costs.

The Universal Recycling Grant and Low Interest Loan Program was created by the state’s Universal Recycling Law. The law provides a framework to ensure recycling services in Delaware are effective and easily accessible. Commercial sector entities are expected to be actively participating in recycling programs. The commercial sector includes any for-profit or not-for profit retail or wholesale stores, offices, food service establishments, warehouses, and other manufacturing, industrial or processing activities, and institutions such as social, charitable, educational, health care, professional and government services.

Schools, business owners, and institution managers are encouraged to learn about the growing recycling opportunities in Delaware. Recycling can be economically beneficial when organizations reduce their disposal costs. To learn more about requirements, grant funding, commercial recycling toolkits, recycling grant opportunities and more, please visit www.recycling.delaware.gov or call 302-739-9403, ext. 8. Also: If you or your business would like assistance with waste reduction and recycling, please call the number above to set up a no-cost, onsite waste assessment by DNREC’s Recycling team, who can offer suggestions on how to implement or expand your recycling program.

CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902. 

Vol. 46, No. 304

-30-