HomeMy WebLinkAboutRecycling Plan Changes MemoDepartment of Administrative Services
Dave Kanner, County Administrator
1300 NW Wall St, Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960
(541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202
www.co.deschutes.orus
April 27, 2011
TO: Board of Commissioners
FROM: Dave Kanner
RE: Changes to Deschutes County Recycling Plan
At your work session on May 4, Timm Schimke will provide you with an update on
revisions to the County's recycling plan.
These revisions grew out of a discussion the Board had last January when Timm
presented a request for Board signature of a contract with the Environmental Center to
provide the enhanced recycling education and promotion required by ORS 459A. This
led to conversations with the Department of Environmental Quality over the requirements
of ORS 459A during which it was discovered that we are out of compliance with the
statute and DEQ administrative rules. The corrective action proposed is the submission
of an "alternative method" plan to DEQ that we believe will meet with DEQ approval.
As background, it's important to understand that the plan submitted annually to DEQ by
the County is really submitted on behalf of the cities of Bend and Redmond. The County
is not, by law, required to offer a recycling program (except in unincorporated areas
within the urban growth boundaries of Bend or Redmond), but the cities are required to
do so. The cities of La Pine and Sisters are not statutorily required to offer recycling
programs because their populations are less than 4,000. The County has historically
done all of the required planning work and paid for certain elements of the cities'
recycling programs because we had the staff expertise in the Department of Solid Waste
that the cities did not have and because the funds to pay for these program elements were
built into the tipping fee at the County's disposal facilities. As such, city residents were
already paying for these programs through their garbage bills. The County, although not
required to, extended these programs — to the extent practical -- Countywide because
County customers were also paying through their garbage bills and because, frankly, it's
the right thing to do.
Attached to this memo is an outline of the recycling requirements of ORS 459A. The
County (i.e., the cities of Bend and Redmond) has historically met these requirements by
offering elements 2 a., 2 b. and 2 c. of ORS 459A.010, plus elements 2 f. and 2 h. (shown
on page two of the attachment). Other elements are also offered but not to the universal
Enhancing the Lives of Citizens by Delivering Quality Services in a Cost -Effective Manner
extent that would qualify as meeting the opportunity to recycle mandates. We have relied
on the haulers and the Environmental Center to meet the requirements of 2 c., the
expanded education and promotion program.
When Bend and Redmond went to every -other -week collection of recyclables and every -
other -week collection of yard debris by subscription only, our recycling plan became
non-compliant.
The cost of providing a compliant program would undoubtedly result in a significant rate
increase for garbage customers and would arguably not result in an improved recycling
rate for Deschutes County, which is already meeting its recycling goals. As such, and
vwith the concurrence of the cities and the franchised haulers, we will submit a plan to
meet our recycling goals with "an alternative method that meets DEQ approval." This
alternative program will provide for continuing the current bi-weekly residential curbside
collection program, plus at least some of all of the other program elements except for the
expanded recycling depots. The recycling education and promotion program conducted
by the Environmental Center will be continued, but at a reduced level; $100,000/year
rather than the previously proposed $1 X0,000/year.
Again. the cities and haulers are all in agreement with this alternative program and we
have some indication from DEQ that they may be amenable as well. Statf will be
available to answer any questions you may have about this at your May 4 work session.
ORS 459A — Reuse and Recycling
The Opportunity to Recycle (requirements)
459A.005 Opportunity to Recycle defined.
1. At a minimum, city/county responsible for solid waste management must:
a. Provide a place for collection of source separated recyclables at disposal sites or
other location more convenient to the population served.
And collection at least once a month of source separated recyclables within city
UGB.
May propose an alternative method.
b. Comply with rates and programs elements (459A.010)
2. Opportunity to Recycle includes a public education and promotion program that
a. Gives notice to each person of the opportunity to recycle and:
b. Encourages source separation of recyclable material.
459A.010 Program Elements and Recovery Rates
1. Statewide goals
2. Opportunity to Recycle includes the following program elements:
a. Durable container for each residential service customer
b. On -route collection at least once each week of source separated recyclables to
residential customers on same day that solid waste is collected
c. An expanded education and promotion program. Cities/counties responsible for
providing an opportunity to recycle shall provide the education and promotion
program in either of two ways:
A. Prepare and implement a plan approved by DEQ
B. Implement all of the following
i. Provide recycling notification and education packets to all new
residential, commercial and institutional collection service
customers (detail)
ii. Provision of quarterly information to collection service customers
iii. Provision annually to customers information under i
iv. Targeting of community and media events to promote recycling.
d. Collection of 4 principal recyclable materials from multifamily complexes with 5 or
more units.
e. Residential yard debris collection and composting program that includes either:
A. Monthly or more frequent on -route collection of yard debris from
residences or:
B. A system of yard debris collection depots conveniently located
and open to the public at least once a week.
f. A commercial recycling program that includes:
A. Weekly onsite collection
B. An education and promotion program
C. Other elements including but not limited to waste assessments
and recycling recognition programs.
D. Each commercial generator of solid waste shall strive to achieve
50% recovery by 2009.
g. Expanded depots for recycling
h. Solid waste residential collection rates that encourage waste reduction (no
decrease in per unit costs for larger containers)
i. A collection and composting system for food from commercial and institutional
entities
3. Cities and their UGB
a. Cities over 4,000 population but not more than 10,000 and counties responsible
for the area between the city limits and the UGB shall implement one of the
following:
A. Program elements set forth in 2 a. b. and c. above:
B. A program that includes at least three elements in 2 above
C. An alternative method that meets DEQ approval.
b. Cities over 10,000 population and counties responsible for the area between the
city limits and the UGB shall implement one of the following:
A. Program elements set forth in 2 a. b. and c. above and one
additional element set forth in 2 above
B. A program that includes at least 5 elements in 2 above
C. An alternative method that meets DEQ approval
4. Recovery rates and 2% programs