DATE: March 14, 2016
TO: Council Sustainability Committee
FROM: Director of Utilities and Environmental Services
SUBJECT
Title
Solid Waste Franchise Agreement Annual Report
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Committee reviews and comments on this report.
Body
BACKGROUND
On January 20, 2015, Council authorized a new Franchise Agreement between the City and Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC). The Agreement became effective on March 1, 2015.
Hayward’s General Plan includes the following policies and implementation programs related to solid waste and recycling.
Policy PFS-7.4 Solid Waste Diversion - The City shall comply with State goals regarding diversion from landfill, and strive to comply with the provisions approved by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority.
Policy PFS-7.12 Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling - The City shall require demolition, remodeling and major new development projects to salvage or recycle asphalt and concrete and all other non-hazardous construction and demolition materials to the maximum extent practicable.
Policy PFS-7.13 Residential Recycling - The City shall encourage increased participation in residential recycling programs, and strive to comply with the recycling provisions approved by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority Board. The City shall work with StopWaste.org to monitor participation in residential recycling programs and educate the community regarding actual composition of waste sent to landfills.
Policy PFS-7.16 Organics Collection - The City shall encourage residents and businesses to separate for collection food and food-soiled paper using organics collection services provided by the City’s franchisee.
Policy PFS-7.21 Mandatory Recycling - The City shall implement mandatory recycling for commercial and multifamily uses and work with StopWaste.org to increase participation in this program.
Regarding Policy 7.4 (solid waste diversion) above, AB 939, which became law in 1989, mandates that, beginning in calendar year 2000, all municipalities divert at least 50% of all waste generated from the landfill. The City met the requirement by recording a 52% diversion rate for 2000. Pursuant to local Alameda County Measure D, the Board of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority (ACWMA) set 2010 as the date by which Alameda County would strive to achieve a 75% diversion rate. In 2011, AB 341 established a state-wide goal of 75% diversion by 2020. In addition, ACWMA adopted a 2020 goal of reducing the amount of readily recyclable and compostable materials deposited in landfills to no more than 10% of total materials originating in Alameda County.
DISCUSSION
The current Franchise Agreement (FA) includes several provisions that are new or different from the previous Agreement:
• Goals for increased diversion of material from the landfill
• Organics collection service for multi-family properties
• Participation in Phase 2 of the County’s Mandatory Recycling Ordinance (MRO)
• Significant increase in outreach to comply with the MRO and to meet diversion goals
• Additional bulky pickups for single-family properties
• New bulky service for multi-family properties
• Removal of abandoned debris
Landfill Diversion - CalRecycle (California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery) requires local jurisdictions to submit annual reports to calculate and document diversion rates in order to demonstrate compliance with AB 939. In August 2015, staff calculated and submitted the City’s 2014 diversion rate of 76%. Previous years’ diversion rates are listed in (see Table 1 in Attachment I). These rates are calculated using CalRecycle’s formula and are based on total tons originating from the City and landfilled at WMAC’s facility or other disposal sites. However, staff received notice from CalRecycle in December that the calculated rate of 76% had been rejected and that the rate should be 72%.
As noted in the January 20, 2015 Council report (<http://www.hayward-ca.gov/CITY-GOVERNMENT/CITY-COUNCIL-MEETINGS/2015/CCA15PDF/cca012015full.pdf> ), CalRecycle has been considering changes to the method used to calculate the annual diversion rate and that those changes could lower the City’s diversion rate. When preparing each annual report for CalRecycle’s review, City staff appropriately deducts certain tonnage of special wastes that cannot be recycled, such as treated wood waste, contaminated soil and asbestos, from total tons disposed. City staff has submitted records supporting those deductions since 2001 with CalRecycle’s approval. CalRecycle recently contacted City staff to advise that, to continue to deduct these materials, documents specifying that special wastes must be landfilled are now required. Such documents vary from region to region and have proved challenging to obtain; however, staff is preparing a response to CalRecycle.
CalRecycle’s diversion rate is calculated using a formula that takes into consideration all wastes generated within Hayward’s boundaries - some of which, such as self-hauled waste, is not hauled by Waste Management. The Franchise Recovery Rate (FRR) is a benchmark included in the FA to track WMAC’s performance by measuring only the material collected and managed by Waste Management. The current FA includes FRR goals that WMAC agreed to meet. The required FRR for 2015 was 46% and is required to gradually increase to 80% by 2024, the final year of the FA (see Table 2 in Attachment I).
Staff anticipates that the agreed-upon FRR goals will help the City achieve an 80% diversion rate (per CalRecycle) by 2018. The FRR goals are based, in large part, on tons of franchised waste collected by WMAC that would yield an additional annual diversion of 13,500 tons in 2016 and 15,000 tons in 2017. In calendar year 2015, WMAC achieved a FRR of 37.4%. This rate is short of the 46% contractual requirement.
Staff is working with WMAC to confirm its calculation of the FRR Performance in the first year of the contract has certainly not met the requirements. WMAC faced some delays in getting their new outreach positions filled and in 2016, expects to assist many more business and multi-family properties to implement programs that comply with the MRO. Staff will continue to work closely with WMAC and their outreach team to improve the FRR and the state-recognized diversion rate.
As specified in the contract, WMAC was required to hire a full-time staff person and three part-time temporary staff, all of whom are dedicated to outreach and education focused on increased diversion. While the current contract took effect on March 1, 2015, WMAC hired one temporary, part-time staff person in July. That individual left after approximately four weeks. The current full-time staff (Public Sector Service Manager, Sasha Stackhouse), began on September 1, 2015. Ms. Stackhouse’s primary responsibility is to promote and implement diversion programs for businesses and multi-family properties in Hayward. Ms. Stackhouse is attending today’s meeting and is available for questions. The three part-time temporary staff, hired in December, will assist the Public Sector Service Manager during the first couple years of the contract.
Mandatory Recycling Ordinance - Council authorized Hayward’s participation in the County’s mandatory recycling ordinance, which was adopted by the Waste Management Authority of Alameda County, also known as StopWaste. Phase 1 of the ordinance, which became effective in July 2012, required all commercial customers with weekly trash collection service of four cubic yards or more to subscribe to recycling service. Phase 2 of the ordinance is being implemented in Hayward as follows:
• Businesses that generate a substantial amount of organics (e.g., restaurants, food processors, and florists) and all multi-family properties were required to implement organics collection service by July 1, 2015. StopWaste began enforcement of this requirement on January 1, 2016.
• All businesses (regardless of size), must begin recycling service by July 1, 2016. StopWaste will begin enforcement of this requirement on January 1, 2017.
The previous contract did not provide for collection of organic materials from multi-family properties. Organics service became available on March 1, 2015, and is now required. There are approximately 453 multi-family properties in Hayward subject to these requirements. Since September 2015, WMAC outreach staff has visited seventy-four multi-family properties and started organics service for seventy of them. In addition, they have called and emailed seventy-four properties offering technical assistance. There are approximately 3,000 commercial accounts in Hayward. WMAC has visited forty-eight businesses to offer organics and recycling services - all of whom have started organics service. In addition, StopWaste’s consultant, Cascadia, has provided approximately 200 businesses with organics and recycling technical assistance.
In addition to the outreach efforts listed above, a variety of letters, brochures, and bill inserts have been mailed by Hayward, WMAC and StopWaste. These mailings have resulted in some customers calling WMAC and requesting new services. Table 3 in Attachment I shows that 55% of required business are participating in organics collection and that 57% of multi-family properties are participating in organics collection. As noted above, significant outreach efforts will be made in 2016 to increase participation in organics service. Organics are typically heavier than other materials and can make a big difference in the overall tonnage diverted from the landfill.
StopWaste Enforcement - The ACWMA , also known as StopWaste, has been enforcing the mandatory recycling ordinance. StopWaste provides two warning notices before a citation is issued. Lists of the customers that have received warnings are provided to StopWaste’s contractor, Cascadia, and to WMAC. Outreach staff from Cascadia and WMAC use the lists to focus their efforts, providing assistance to entities with setting up new services and to help them avoid fines. In 2015, StopWaste issued 458 warnings (280 to multi-family and 178 to commercial customers) and two citations to commercial customers.
Additional Bulky Pickups for Single-Family Properties - The previous contract provided for one bulky collection per single-family household per year. In 2014, approximately 17% of single-family households (5,191) used the bulky pickup collection service. In an effort, to increase participation, the new contract allows for two pick-ups per year. In 2015, approximately 30% (8,995) of single family households used the bulky pickup collection service. Of the appointments scheduled in 2015, 61% occurred during the second half of the year, which may be the result of increased outreach announcing the availability of the service. Staff will continue to promote this service through direct-mail brochures, informational literature in garbage bills, including an insert in water bills, highlighting the service on the City’s new website, and working with California Youth Energy Services.
New bulky service for multi-family properties - The new contract allows for collection of bulky items from multi-family properties - up to four cubic yards per dwelling unit per year, which is equivalent to the volume of two bulky pickups for single-family properties. Since March 1, 2015, sixty-five properties (approximately 14%) have taken advantage of this service. This level of participation is lower than anticipated. Of the appointments scheduled in 2015, 66% occurred during the second half of the year. Staff has announced the new service in multiple letters, bill inserts, brochures, and postcards. Some property managers have expressed interest in utilizing the service, but do not have adequate space to locate a roll-off container. Staff will be working with WMAC to explore additional options for properties with space constraints. Options may include locating a container in the public right-of-way for a very limited period of time. If it is not possible or desired to set up a bulky appointment, staff can provide self-haul coupons to residents and property managers.
Removal of Abandoned Trash - During the last few years of the previous FA, WMAC agreed to a pilot program where they would remove abandoned trash from an average of four different single- or multi-family properties each day, Monday through Friday for a total of forty cubic yards per week. In 2015, WMAC picked up only twenty-four occurrences of illegal dumping compared with over 230 allowed under the contract or just over 10% of the frequency allowed under the contract. Staff has communicated the availability of this service to Maintenance Services staff who continues to bear the brunt of picking up abandoned trash. The FA specifies that WMAC’s drivers report locations of abandoned trash to their dispatch office so that the appropriate truck and driver removes the abandoned trash on the same day or within twenty-four hours of the initial date of recognition. Staff is not aware of any cases that were reported by WMAC drivers.
Public Trash Containers - As has been the case in the past, WMAC is responsible for servicing the public litter containers throughout Hayward. Downtown containers are scheduled to be serviced five times per week and all other containers are to be serviced three times per week. WMAC’s performance has been spotty and inconsistent. Staff has determined that, in many cases, drivers do not empty containers that are a quarter to half full, which can, later in the week, result in overflowing containers. Drivers have been instructed to empty containers even when they are not full. The new Big Belly containers, received and installed in September, have been working well. The electronic sensors installed in each container and the Big Belly website allow City and WMAC staff to monitor each container’s fill rate in order to ensure that the containers are serviced, as needed. Delivery of the new exposed aggregate containers has taken much longer than anticipated. The first half of the delivery was received in February and those containers will be placed in the near future at locations previously discussed with the Committee.
Placement of Carts for Collection
Hayward’s Municipal Code (Section 5-1.15) states that “containers shall not be placed curbside or streetside earlier than 6:00 a.m. the day before scheduled Collection.” This means that carts can be put out twenty-four hours before they are serviced. In response to a recent comment by a Council Member, staff is considering bringing a proposed ordinance amendment to Council to change the setout time from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to limit the time that carts can be in or adjacent to the public right-of-way and in view. The ordinance also states that carts shall be retrieved and placed out of public view no later than midnight on collection day. Staff does not recommend any change to the retrieval time, but would appreciate feedback from the Committee on the possible change to the set-out time.
NEXT STEPS
Staff has and will continue to meet with WMAC twice each month to monitor progress. Staff will continue to work closely with WMAC to maximize participation in recycling and organics services to maximize material diverted from the landfill. If the Committee agrees, staff will prepare an ordinance amendment for Council’s consideration regarding hours for cart placement.
Prepared by: Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager
Staff contact
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Utilities and Environmental Services
end
Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments: