1 New Curbside Recycling Program Briefing 2009 VRA Conference May 5, 2009 Lynchburg, VA Erik Grabowsky Department of Environmental Services Utilities and Environmental Policy Division Solid Waste Bureau

2 Arlington Facts and Figures Population of 209,300 32,500 single family and townhouse homes 64% of residents live in apartments or condos Approximately 75,000 residents served by the residential collection programs Commercial and multi-family sector generates 70-75% of all solid waste produced in the County MSW disposed- 146,932 tons Principal Recyclable & Reused materials tons CY 2008 Recycling Rate- 42.5%

3 Residential Programs Trash collection © Recycling collection © Brush collection Metal collection Spring yard waste Car Battery Collection Vacuum Leaf Collection Bag Leaf Collection Mulch Delivery

4 End of a Seven Year Contract Cycle & Time for Something New Old Dual Stream Recycling System

5 Increasing Residential Recycling Rates CY2008 Recycling29,622 tons Refuse40,947 tons *Includes curbside yellow bin, brush, leaves, scrap metal, and metal reclamation **Unofficial score not yet approved by VADEQ ***Projected CY09 rate assuming a 10% increase in recycling

6 Reuse, Recycling, and Curbside Recycling Potential

7 Disposal Savings Savings in disposal 1%$30,707 2%$61,415 3%$92,122 4%$122,829 5%$153,536 10%$307,073 15%$460,609 20%$614,145

8 Information Gathering Citizen Survey Comments Want to recycle more items Want notifications, newsletters, & website links Focus Groups 2 single family & 1 townhome/duplex Total of 24 participants Surveys Solid Waste Committee Input Communication is key to changes Civic Federation Input Lower cost/HSWR to those who recycle

9 Curbside Recycling Focus Groups Recommendations & Conclusions Strong demand for increased commodities to be recycled, especially plastics Strong demand for wheeled recycling cart Willingness to pay $10 - $20 more a year for the new improved recycling program Interested in incentives favoring HSWR reductions Not interested in a weekly yard waste collection for an increased cost

10 So what do we do? Traditional Bid (2 months) Something new (RFP) (4-6 months)

11 New Approach Request for Proposals (RFP) rather than bid for services Allow industry to tell us about best practices “We don’t know what we don’t know” Instead of traditional bid specifications we wanted to hear from the experts in the field Goals for a new program Increase participation Increase quantity of material collected More convenient Expand list of acceptable materials More information about participation Minimize cart maintenance Get the best value for both collection and processing

12 RFP Process Issue a general description of services to be purchased and ask for proposals from contractors. Hold a question and answer meeting for contractors. Assemble an evaluation committee and create a ‘scoring’ method for evaluating proposals. Invite at least three ‘finalists’ for oral presentations. Negotiate with all finalists and request their ‘best and final’ offer. Prepare a contract with detailed specifications describing the services to be delivered.

13 Summary of Program Changes Single stream New blue wheeled recycling carts 35 gallon for townhomes 65 gallon for single family homes/duplexes Distributed over the first 6-8 weeks of the contract Information on residential participation Tracking with RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) Expanded materials for recycling Plastic bags, rigid containers, coat hangers E-waste collection Metal Collection switched to contractor

14 Curbside Recycling Costs Curbside Recycling Costs/Month ComponentsCurrentNew Collection$3.13$3.07 Bins/Carts$0.14$1.08 E-waste & Metal $0.19*$0.40 HSWR Recycling/Month$3.46$4.55 HSWR Recycling/Year$41.52$56.76 Significant Improvements/Changes: -Carts (35 or 65 gallon) vice 18 gallon bins (Single stream) -Only annual CPI-U adjustments for variable costs -Fuel surcharge after $4.00 rises as CPI-U rises- indexed to County supplier -Contractor distributes and maintains carts for duration of contract -County gains ownership of carts at beginning of contract. -Cart maintenance costs in years 6 and 7 is.20 per month (saving $10.56 per HH) -Revenue generated from all commodity sales goes to County- NO sharing agreement -Significantly expanded list of materials eligible for recycling -Metal collection program provided by contractor (by request) -E-waste collection upon request (TV/Monitor fees assessed through system) -RFID tags on each cart- information provided about participation * Metal only collection $15.24 increase or 37%

15 New Curbside Recycling Contract New Single Stream Recycling System

16 Single Stream & New Carts 35 gallon 65 gallon

17 RFID Tracking Each cart outfitted with RFID tag Assigned to each household Truck collects data of each cart set out Provide SWB data collected Track participation rate of each household Focus education & outreach efforts on non– participating households Survey non-participating households to find out reason behind not recycling

18 Expanded Recycled Materials

19 E-Waste & Metal Collection Current E-Waste Collection Water Pollution Control Plant ECARE event(s) Current Metal Collection SWB special pick-up request SWB Facility Drop-off Future Collection Curbside collection on a request basis Deliver e-waste to the Water Pollution Control Plant or UNICOR Deliver scrap metal to Smith’s Computer monitors are $15 and TVs are $20

20 Residential Programs Trash collection © Recycling collection © Brush collection Metal collection © Spring yard waste Car Battery Collection Vacuum Leaf Collection Bag Leaf Collection Mulch Delivery E-waste collection ©

21 UNICOR Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) UNICOR is a non-profit organization owned and managed by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons. Arlington and UNICOR have entered into an MOU that makes clear that Arlington gives up its rights to the donated property and UNICOR commits to recycling the materials. Materials are accepted at ‘no-charge’ except for items containing a cathode ray tube (CRT). CRT’s are $10 each to be recycled.

22 Processing Recyclables When setting a pricing formula for recyclables using a ‘price index’ such as the Official Board Markets or Waste & Recycling News, use a method that minimizes risk to the processor by accurately indexing the material and you will get a better price. Formula 1: (OBM #1 Mixed Paper X 51%) minus $49 processing fee = $41.35 tip fee Formula 2: Monthly Published Index values for ONP,OCC, Mix, plastic, glass, metal minus $72 = $32.77 tip fee.

23 Processing Recyclables- Formula 1 Pricing based on an index price of a single commodity. ($15 (Mixed Paper) X 51%) - $49 = $7.65 per ton - $49 per ton = $41.35 per ton tip fee

24 Processing Recyclables – Formula 2 Pricing based on a complete ‘basket’ of recyclables OCC:12.07$ 5.13 Aluminum Cans:1.07%$.71 Steel Cans:3.81%$ 3.05 Natural HDPE:0.80%$.11 Colored HDPE:0.84%$.12 PET:2.23%$.31 Plastic Resin 3-7:0.77%$.11 Bulk Rigid Plastics:0.00%Currently No Data Available Bagged Film/Shrink Wrap:0.00%Currently No Data Available Mixed Broken Glass:16.05%$ 4.00 Residue:5.28% Total100%$39.23 $39.23 per ton - $72 = $32.77 per ton tip fee

25 Education & Outreach Cart Packet

26 Education & Outreach Sustainment  RFID Tag Tracking Educational materials sent to non-participating residents (postcards, flyers, s, phone call)  Updating Acceptable Materials Allocating space on magnet to include new commodities  Recycling Education Continuous education and outreach encouraging recycling

27 Implementation Organizational Meeting w/ contractor Review contract procedures Review standards and liquidated damages provisions Stress what is important Driver training and route familiarization Review delivery locations and procedures Strong supervisory presence during transition Identify and correct problems as they occur Surveys Discrepancy reports Miss/complaints reports Strong contract management is critical

28 Liquidated damages Missed collection points over thirty homes - $10 each Missed collection after notification - $25 Spillage (fail to clean-up within an hour) - $50 Failure to use hydraulic lift - $50 each house Supervisor unavailable - $50 Failure to respond to a complaint - $50 Early start on collection route - $100 Unqualified supervisor - $200

29 Survey Results

30 Questions or Thoughts? Erik Grabowsky Department of Environmental Services Solid Waste Bureau Phone: