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Lakeshore Recycling Systems Sets Path to Net Zero by 2040 with Focus on Emissions, Efficiency and Education
Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), Illinois' largest waste and recycling provider, is advancing toward net zero operations by 2040. With sustainability managers Natalie Grimaldi and Joy Rifkin, LRS focuses on landfill emissions capture, route optimization, and equipment decarbonization, while promoting recycling through state-of-the-art facilities and partnerships with schools for educational outreach.
6 Min Read
LRS
Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) is the largest waste and recycling service provider in Illinois, with 900,000-plus customers and over 125 municipal contracts across eight states. As the team continues to grow its footprint, it reaches for net zero operations by 2040.
In this Q&A, LRS sustainability managers Natalie Grimaldi and Joy Rifkin share an inside view of company strategies to hit that mark. They talk of a new, high-tech facility that’s drawn visitors from around the region. And they illuminate on a unique partnership with school districts to support systemwide waste diversion programs.
Waste360: What steps has LRS taken to be “emissions free” by 2040? And where are you finding opportunity to make the most headway?
Grimaldi: We plan to reduce LRS’ emissions and strategically align our actions with the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In 2023, LRS committed to an ambitious net zero plan aimed at eliminating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040. Our three largest emissions sources became the initial focus areas for decarbonization.
We are currently working on three energy transformation pillars:
Landfill emissions capture
Route optimization
Equipment conversion
Waste360: Can you elaborate on each of your energy transformation pillars?
Grimaldi:
Landfill Emissions Capture
The goal of net zero is to reduce GHG emissions, including methane and carbon dioxide, and we especially focus on methane—the second-largest contributor to global warming. Approximately 60 percent of methane emissions come from human activities with organic materials decomposing in landfills as one of the largest sources.
Converting methane into carbon dioxide [when flaring it] lowers landfill emissions and ultimately lessens its impact on climate change. But another method for lowering landfill emissions is to use methane beneficially. Instead of letting it escape into the air, we can capture, convert, and use it as a renewable energy resource. We are currently expanding our landfill gas (LFG) collection and control system, which enables us to collect more LFG and explore opportunities for its beneficial reuse. Future testing will inform our strategies for its use as an energy source.
Route Optimization
Our route optimization framework focuses on minimizing total driving time, factoring in variables such as pickup windows, vehicle load capacity, driver schedule, traffic congestion, accidents on the road, and pickup proximity to transfer stations, materials recovery facilities (MRFs), and landfills.
Our route optimization framework reduces overall costs associated with fuel and vehicle maintenance, increases collection efficiency that in turn improves driver satisfaction and customer experience, and reduces emissions. The emissions reduction will have a major impact in helping us meet our reduction targets because our fleet represents a significant percentage of our inventoried GHG emissions.
Equipment Decarbonization
Our approach to equipment decarbonization involves evaluating lower-carbon fuel alternatives like compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel, or renewable diesel. We have effectively transitioned to CNG and are developing a schedule to retire older vehicles and strategically replace them with lower-emission ones.
The heavy-duty equipment market is trending toward electric or hybrid electric-powered systems that work alongside traditional fuel-powered systems. Electric equipment has a high upfront cost but also has potential to save substantial capital in the long term through fuel savings and reduced maintenance costs.
We have found electric-powered equipment to be more mechanically reliable because it has fewer moving components than combustion engine equipment, and electric systems require less routine maintenance since upkeep such as changing oil becomes obsolete.
At LRS MRFs, we use three fully electric material handlers to process single-stream and construction and demolition recyclables, which helps reduce our fossil fuel consumption.
Switching to electric is also benefiting our employees. They work in a healthier, safer environment with reduced noise levels.
Waste360: How much of what material do you process at your MRFs, and what commodities are proving most valuable?
Rifkin: Our MRFs, which support over 900,000 customers, leverage state-of-the-art technology to sort single-stream and construction and demolition recyclable materials.
We have three single-stream MRFs and three construction and demolition MRFs in the Chicagoland area. These facilities process home recycling, such as metal, glass, plastic, cartons, cardboard, and paper as well as demolition debris such as scrap metal, wood, shingles, brick, and concrete.
In 2023, LRS diverted over 350,000 tons.
Aluminum beverage cans, which are infinitely recyclable, continue to be the most valuable item we sort at our single-stream MRFs.
The Can Manufacturers Institute found that one in four aluminum beverage cans are missorted at a typical MRF. They decided to fund the EverestLabs AI and robot at LRS’s Exchange MRF in order to capture more of these missorted cans. The net new aluminum cans recovered are expected to pay back the financing—this AI robot recovers approximately 7,500 aluminum cans daily at our facility. In its less than one year of use, the robot has recovered over 1.3 million aluminum beverage cans.
Waste360: How do you leverage education and outreach to take recycling to the next level?
Rifkin: Our Exchange MRF processes all recyclable materials from the City of Chicago’s blue cart recycling program, encompassing over 620,000 homes. We created an interactive map illustrating the step-by-step recycling journey to raise awareness and dispel misconceptions about the process.
Over 35,000 Chicago residents, students, and teachers have used the map to discover the next stop on the recycling journey. What’s unique about this tool is that it doesn’t just share the recycling process; we are able to share where these materials end up in order to be turned into new products. We showcase that all our recycling stays in North America, heading to paper mills in Indiana and metal refineries in Kentucky. This map is a tool in transparency and education and allows us to show the entire circular journey of our materials.
Waste360: How do you work with school districts and others to educate around sustainability?
Rifkin: Since our newest MRF, The Exchange, opened in 2023, we’ve had over 1,000 guests tour the facility. This year, The Exchange won the National Waste & Recycling Association’s Recycling Facility of the Year award. We won not because we have the most high-tech facility; we won because of our commitment to education and transparency.
Our visitors include university professors and students, package designers, government leaders, customers, businesses, and community groups. We host tours for upstream packaging designers concerned about approaching extended producer responsibility laws, and downstream community members and environmental groups.
Guests walk the facility to see the magnets, infrared cameras, people, and machines involved in properly sorting recyclables.
During Earth Month 2024, LRS hosted its first ever “Community Open House” welcoming over 75 community members and City of Chicago block captains to tour the facility. We also released a virtual tour of the facility.
For the past decade, LRS has serviced over 600 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for trash and recycling collection, and we have educated students and staff around recycling practices.
In 2014, LRS, CPS, and Seven Generations Ahead co-launched an organics collection to divert cafeteria food waste, starting with a small cohort of schools and growing from there.
Now, LRS is the waste and recycling provider for school districts throughout the Midwest and also offers an educational component around waste diversion. We design educational tools for classroom waste and recycling education and meet with educators to support systemwide waste diversion programs. We take on this role because it’s our responsibility to change the conversation around waste by promoting responsible production, consumption, and recovery of materials to protect our natural resources.
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