CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
West Virginia Army National Guard 1st Lt. Darin Cook was the right man at the right time for the Guard when a Department of Defense (DoD) executive order pertaining to federal sustainability was signed requiring a new emphasis on recycling and waste stream diversion.
A March 19, 2015 executive order from then President Barack Obama, directed all federal agencies, including the DoD, to put sustainability at the forefront of policy and operations.
The executive order established a new set of goals for fiscal year 2020 with the intention of fostering innovation, reducing spending, and strengthening both federal agencies and the communities in which federal facilities operate.
During this time, Guard leadership in the state were looking to hire a recycling and integrated solid waste manager. Cook was serving as a traditional Guard member while working and running his own recycling and solid waste business, and was a natural fit.
Using the knowledge, experience, and skill sets gained from his civilian sector business, Cook immediately began to have a dramatic positive impact on WVNG operations statewide. Beginning in July 2015, he led the charge to meet the overall goals and mandates of the executive order, well ahead of the 2020 implementation deadline.
Since program inception, municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling has increased by nearly 500 percent, construction and demolition (C&D) debris recycling by nearly 2,000 percent, and other waste recycling by 1,500 percent across the WVNG, according to the WVNG Recycling Program 2017 Qualified Recycling Program (QRP) and Integrated Solid Waste Management Report.
“We are getting much closer to the fiscal year 2020 DoD requirement of 50 percent recycling for municipal solid waste and have already met the DoD requirement of 60 percent for C&D waste,” Cook said.
In 2016 and 2017, the recycling program created an income of more than $52,000 and saved more than $15,000 in the same timeframe.
In late 2017, the focus begin shifting from the extreme cleanup phase of facilities which had been almost completed, to the asset allocation and stabilization phase of the overall initiative, otherwise known as the execution phase. In order to meet the DoD requirements - specifically, diverting at least 50% MSW - the QRP focused on two major issues: employee participation and obtaining assets.
The 2018 opening of a WVNG recycling center section in Poca, West Virginia at the Rock Branch Rite Aid warehouse, which acts as a one stop processing location to sort, separate and ship everything recyclable, has been integral to the success of the program. The WVARNG is able to recycle all non-hazardous solid waste except comingled waste (trash), fiberglass and Styrofoam.
“The Poca facility will be key to providing absolute ease of access for all stakeholders to have availability to recycle everything at each WVARNG facility with every asset and collection system needed to reach a zero landfill effort,” Cook said.
The much-needed addition of a box truck used in the transportation of recycling goods has also had an impact on the amount of material recycled. Recycling routes to armories are no longer stalled by lack of space in the smaller recycling truck that was being used, Cook added.
While the WVNG is well on its way to meeting and exceeding all required 2020 parameters, additional capabilities are being added to enhance the program and increase return on investment. Upcoming QRP projects include adding a horizontal and vertical baler to generate revenue from paper, plastic and cardboard materials; a brass deformer to generate revenue from ammunition brass; a wire stripper machine; mobile shredding service; wood recycling through composting capabilities; and many others.
QRP income is expected to triple once the baler is added in order to sell compacted cardboard, paper and plastic. Income will also increase significantly once the QRP is in control of all used ammo brass collected from WVNG ranges across the state and a brass deformer used to prepare the brass for recycling is in operation at Poca.
“While we keep getting closer to the vision of the QRP, we must continually work on the vision for the Integrated Solid Waste Management Program (ISWMP) to be independent with its municipal solid waste collection systems within the WVARNG. This will continue to save us thousands of dollars in the long run,” Cook said. “With enough passion and teamwork across the state between multiple organizations, we could be a key leader in establishing a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in the State of West Virginia.”
Cook attributes his success in the program to the support of the National Guard and leaders in West Virginia who helped him get to where he is today. “None of this would have been possible without the leadership of the Guard here,” he said. The WVARNG QRP and ISWMP is my legacy. I owe the world to the WVARNG for providing me with this opportunity.”