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Solid Waste Services
2006/2007 Solid Waste Assessment Report
Solid Waste Assessment Report to City Council
Executive Summary
Executive Summary | Report to City Council
The City of Upper Arlington's Solid Waste services received high marks from residents in the 2006 Community Survey. The free recycling program received a mean of 6.4 and refuse collection 6.2, with 7 equating to “very high quality.” In fact, since its inception in 1992, the City's “pay as you throw” approach, coupled with free recycling services, has put Upper Arlington ahead of most communities for minimizing the amount of refuse that ends up at the landfill. A November 5, 2006 Columbus Dispatch article confirmed this too, with Upper Arlington achieving the highest amount of recycling produced by an average household each week, and the lowest amount of trash.
We have a lot to be proud of with the current program. However, in recent years the costs for providing Solid Waste services, which are intended to be self-funding, have been outpacing revenues. As a result, it has been necessary to supplement the Solid Waste Fund with General Fund monies to replace the shortfall.
To address this issue, Staff initiated a Solid Waste Assessment process, beginning in the fall of 2006.
Primary goals of the Assessment process were:
- To continue to provide exceptional, cost effective and environmentally friendly Solid Waste Services for Upper Arlington residents and the business community.
- To evaluate existing Solid Waste Services and explore alternative service delivery options to identify an approach that best meets the community's needs.
- To undertake a process that allows for broad community and organizational stakeholder involvement and participation.
- To develop a mechanism for annually reviewing and monitoring the provision of Solid Waste Services.
- To recommend implementation of a cost effective delivery system of Solid Waste Services evolving from the assessment process to City Council.
To successfully undertake this process, a volunteer Staff Advisory Group was formed, comprised of residents who brought various levels of professional expertise to the table, from hands on experience providing solid waste services in other communities to extensive knowledge of state and regulatory requirements.
Over the course of approximately seven months, the Assessment process included extensive community outreach through fall 2006 and spring 2007 public meetings, opportunities for providing feedback through the City's Web site and more. Staff and the Advisory Group conducted extensive research of existing conditions, best practices by other communities and the advent of new technologies that may help streamline services while minimizing costs.
The Solid Waste Assessment process has uncovered a mix of complex information, as the City strives to develop an approach that marries exceptional service with fiscal and environmental considerations.
From residents' perspective, we have received a range of feedback. For many older residents who live alone, the current back door collection, pay-as-you-throw service, combined with free recycling which helps minimize refuse output, is greatly appreciated for its convenience and cost effectiveness. For families with children faced with a large output of refuse each week, this approach is more costly and they favor changes to the current program.
The logistics and realities of providing Solid Waste services are complex, presenting a challenging set of circumstances to balance within the mandate of a self-funded program.
For example, the economic realities of recycling do not translate into a positive flow of income for the City. While the City receives compensation for paper, this does not fully cover the costs of providing this portion of services. In addition, the City is charged for bottles and cans, albeit at a rate below landfill tipping fees, therefore the existing funding mechanism for solid waste services must also support recycling program costs.
The Staff Advisory Group presented its set of recommendations to Staff in early April 2007. It was clearly apparent that community feedback was a key factor for Advisory Group members as they tried to balance cost efficiencies with customer service, new technologies and environmental concerns.
Key to the recommendations emerging from the Advisory Group was that the City should continue to closely evaluate the overall program annually, making incremental adjustments to explore which areas can be enhanced to meet key service, cost and environmental goals, without overhauling the entire program in one fell swoop.
With regard to refuse collection, the group suggested the City maintain at-the-door collection and the pay as you throw approach with Solid Waste Stickers at this time. From a financial perspective however, it put forth a new approach.
Recognizing that a significant number of households take advantage of the recycling service without purchasing Solid Waste Stickers, an annual “cost of doing business” fee was proposed to offset recycling and general service costs, which are currently rolled into the price of each sticker. The aim of this approach would be to more fairly spread such costs among all households, and allow for a reduction in the Solid Waste Sticker price.
The group also proposed a change in the recycling service to reduce Staff time and equipment costs. It recommended issuing all households one larger container with a lid, on wheels. Recycling materials would be co-mingled, simplifying the preparation process for residents, with the lids reducing blowing items on windy days. These containers would be placed at the curb as is currently done. By their uniformity, they would reduce worker injury and speed up the collection process, since the containers would be rolled up to the packer truck, which would then take over. Residents would also be asked to only put their recycling container out when full, which could also help reduce collection time.
Lastly, the Staff Advisory Group proposed that the City consider a seasonal schedule for yard waste collection, with perhaps monthly collections in the winter months, and more frequent collections during the growing season.
While the group's findings and recommendations were well reasoned and researched, as Staff priced out the scenarios in detail, it became clear they would be cost prohibitive and that adjustments to what was eventually brought before City Council were necessary.
Recognizing the complexity of the issues involved, Staff developed a set of three basic scenarios for Council to consider, within which various components could be further adjusted.
In broad terms, these options are:
o To move toward automated service over a number of years, beginning with recycling, providing an appropriate trial of this new approach for both the City and residents.
o To maintain the current approach, knowing that many residents have expressed satisfaction with the high level of service. Under this scenario, however, another increase in the sticker price would be anticipated in 2009.
o To privatize Solid Waste services, recognizing this option is the most cost effective and follows the trend of many other communities.
For all three options, Staff is recommending that the City consider reducing its Yard Waste collection schedule, with fewer collections in winter months, more frequent collections in the spring and fall.
If Solid Waste services remain in-house, Staff would like to explore implementing a four-day, 10-hour workweek, during which time recycling, refuse and yard waste all would be collected on the same day. Benefits emerging from this approach would include fuel savings, Staff morale, and better attendance.
Regardless of City Council's selection of the above outlined options, Staff also is recommending that effective January 2008, residents should be required to bag all refuse before placing it in trash containers. This would reduce instances of wind blown refuse, help protect workers from contamination, and reduce and/or stop scavenging and security risks such as identity theft.
Staff believes that the best options for funding Solid Waste services will become more apparent once the primary option and its components have been selected. Funding scenarios could range from maintaining the Solid Waste Sticker to a hybrid approach in which a “cost of business” fee is charged to all households, with Solid Waste Stickers still sold for trash collection. Decisions about how to fund any necessary equipment upgrades would also have to be determined.
Without one clear set of recommendations emerging from this process, Staff is recommending that City Council reach out to the community for feedback on the three primary options, providing invaluable feedback as it formulates its policy decision.
Staff wishes to thank members of the volunteer Staff Advisory Group for their hard work throughout this intense process. They are: Carolyn Casper-Duvall, George Frecker, Thomas Hoyle, Philip Musser, Christina Redmen, Elisa Thomas and Ned Timmons.
Updated 10/08
City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Phone: 614-583-5040
www.ua-ohio.net
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