HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07121988 - S.6 To: �''• BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Contra
FROM:
Supervisor Tom Torlakson Costa
DATE: County
July 12 , 1988
SUBJECT:
ROLE OF RECYCLING. IN WASTE MANAGEMENT ISSUES
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Refer the letter, dated May 24 , 1988,
from Charles Papke, President of Resource Management Associates, on
recycling issues to the Solid Waste Commission, the Internal
Operations Committee, the Community Development Department, and County
Counsel, particularly for a response to the "control of waste stream
issue" (as discussed in the last paragraph of page one) .
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Please refer to attached for
additional background information.
TT:gro
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S)
ACTION OF BOARD ON July 12, 1988 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT — ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF SUPERV;atcheS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: Solid Waste Commission, via CDD ATTESTED._ 1R 9
Internal operations Committee ,Clerk of the Board 0
Community Development Supervisors and County Administrator
County Counsel
County Administrator
M382/7-98 BY464AO-*4446-) DEPUTY
Ktl:tiVLLj
O' y Cly PESOURCE MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES
MATERIALS RECOVERY & RECYCLING SPECIALISTS
QMA
May 24 , 1988
Tom Torlakson
Supervisor, District Five
300 East Leland Rd.
Suite 100
Pittsburg, CA 94565
v
Dear Mr, orlakson:
Thank you for the copies of your letters that I
received today to the cities of Brentwood and Antioch.
I wasn' t aware that these issues were being raised and
I hope that your letters will generate further thought
and consideration of the role of recycling in waste
management issues .
A few comments about some of these issues .
Franchise agreements and recycling. This issue
has been raised several times in the past few months
in cities served by Central Sanitary District ( Pacheco,
Lafayette and Moraga ) , Walnut Creek and Concord. The
issue arises when cities that have franchise agreements
with private haulers wish to initiate curbside recycling
programs.
Since ownership of garbage and responsibility
for recycling are not clearly stated in existing
agreements , these questions must be resolved through
negotiation. So far these discussions have been
difficult to resolve in most cases , and as such, they
have forced delays and raise barriers to starting new
recycling programs .
One suggestion I have is for the County to seek
a legal opinion regarding this issue that would help
cities decide what they need to do to move forward with
recycling. The opinion would be based on previous cases ,
the California Attorney General' s decision (about 10
years ago) , and survey of other cities that have overcome
this barrier. With a well-studied opinion, cities could
feel more confident in deciding what risk, if any, would
be involved in beginning new programs .
2209 Jefferson Street Napa, CA 94559 (707) 257-8630
Variable can rates. Many cities in the County
already have variable can garbage rates, some of which
have incremental increases per can larger than actual
cost . While this rate system provides an incentive
to reduce waste and to recycle , there really have not
been any studies to verify the degree of correlation.
Nevertheless, some cities such as Livermore , set a rate
charge .on the second and third cans that includes a
fee to off-set the costs of their curbside recycling
programs .
In addition, more cities around the country are
adopting a "metered" collection fee system where
residents buy stickers or bags that include the disposal
cost and only use them when they have saved enough
garbage . In this way people pay only for what they
dispose of, and are encouraged even more to reduce waste
and- recycle . In fact , some cities , such as Grand Rapids ,
Michigan, "sell" two types of bags - one for garbate
( costing about $1 ,50 each) and one for recyclables which
is free. It puzzles me that this "metered tag" system,
which saves considerable sums because it requires no
bookkeeping or billing costs , is not more widespread.
Automated collection. Related to this issue is
the impact of new garbage collection technologies on
recycling participation. Two forms; automated, which
uses mechanical arms to empty large garbage cans into
the truck, and semi-automated which requires some manual
assistance, are spreading rapidly around the country.
In one case , Olympia, Washington recently switched
to semi-automated collection, but before it started,
they carefully studied how to integrate the new
collection system with curbside recycling. It is clear
that by providing large , 90 gallon, containers to
residents , there will be less incentive to reduce waste
and recycle more. Large cans also eliminate the
effectiveness of variable can rates for most users ,
unless three sizes ( 30, 60, and 90 gal) are made available
The County may wish to adopt some policy decisions
regarding these issues to encourage cities to set garbage
collection rates and mechanisms that foster recycling
and waste reduction.
East County Recycling Plant. Again, I 'm glad to
hear of interest to build a materials processing facility
in the east county area. Funding, of course , is an
important element , and the possible use of a "tax
increment fund" for this purpose sounds interesting.
I'm not aware of this fund and would like to learn more
about it .
Page 2
Also, if you or the cities involved would like
some help in developing some of the costs of the
facility, I can offer our experience in the area.
I would be glad to discuss any of these issues
in further detail, should you wish to do so.
Again, thanks for the information. It sounds like
that trip to San Jose started some wheels a-rolling.
Maybe we should try to get more officials on the next
tour.
Since el
C rles Papke
resident
CP/dj
CC: Dave Okita, CC County
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