Implementing Zero Waste Policies in Municipal Organics Collection Program Arlington County Department of Environmental Services: Solid Waste Bureau Virginia Recycling Association May 16, 2017

About Arlington County… Land area = 26.2 miles Population = ~225,000 Households = ~96,000 ~64% of households are apartments or condos served by private haulers ~36% of households are single family style homes served by the County’s residential collection program 211,000 at-place employees each day

Solid Waste Management Plan 20-Year Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) Adopted by County Board in June of 2004 Guide for the future growth of the County’s solid waste management system Provides roadmap for program enhancements over time Established recycling rate goals: 37% by 2014 42% by 2019 47% by 2024

Guided by 4 C’s Approach to SWM

Arlington Zero Waste Resolution Adopted on November 19, 2015 Aims to divert 90 percent of waste away from landfills and incineration by 2038

Solid Waste Management Strategy Metal White goods Metal items Composting Yard Waste Food Waste

Cost Effective Services Jurisdiction Year-Round Yard Waste Program Virginia City of Alexandria Yes Arlington County City of Fairfax Fairfax County City of Falls Church Town of Leesburg Maryland City of Bowie No City of College Park City of Frederick Frederick County Montgomery County Prince George's County *FY13 Rate **FY14 Rate

Residential Solid Waste Services Weekly curbside recycling, yard trimmings and trash collections to 33,100 homes (contracted) Household solid waste rate = $307.28 per year On-call collection fee-based services for E-waste, scrap metals and bulk appliances (contracted) On-call brush collection Mulch pickup & on-call mulch delivery (SWB) Household Hazardous Material drop-off every Saturday Monthly paper shredding events Self-haul options for small amounts of inert materials including rock, asphalt, concrete to Earth Products Recycling Yard

Seasonal Leaf Collections Leaf Season: -Bag collection (weekly) November-January -Vacuum Collection (2 passes) November-December 2015 Tonnages: 659 bagged materials 552 vacuum

Brush Collection On-call service (paid as part of HSWR) Performed by SWB crews 5,372 tons in 2015 from 18,000 service requests Processed at SWB Earth Products Recycling Yard

Earth Products Recycling Yard Recycle all organic materials in a closed loop system Leaf Collection Leaf Mulch Tub Grinder Brush Collection Brush Mulch Recycle and reuse as much inorganic material as possible Crusher- concrete/asphalt/brick into aggregate Trommel- topsoil Dirt shaker-separates clean dirt from aggregate

Where We Were in 2015 16% of residential MSW could be recycled in blue cart Needed to target other fractions of waste stream to increase diversion April 2015 – March 2016

Opportunities & Approach Residential collection services contracts rebid in 2014 - yard waste collection pricing sought through RFP Pricing from successful proposer (American Disposal Services): Collections at $2.83/HH/month Carts financed through ADS contract ($11.40 per cart per year (for first five years of contract); $1.43 per HH per year cart maintenance fee FY 2016 impact of $33.96 on HSWR County Board approval in November, 2015 Processing contract with Loudoun Composting for $32 per ton

Asking the Customer County surveyed HSWR customers via Survey Monkey: 4,283 total respondents (evenly spread across County) 70% of respondents indicated increasing recycling rate was important 60 percent supported adding yard waste collections Made it easier for County Board to approve program

2015 Year-Round Yard Waste Survey Results

Getting the Word Out Local press Direct mail to ratepayers County website Direct mail to landscapers and lawn service providers February – April: Carts distribution Social media

Program Participation 37,400+ Total cart pickups in April 2017 33,063 Households in residential program (FY 2017) 30,515 Green organics carts in the program *Some households have more than 1

Yard Waste Collected by Month April 2015 – March 2016: 1,460 tons total April 2016 – March 2017: 7,172 tons total Seasonal Collection Year Round Collection

Change in Residential Waste Stream 51% diversion 57% diversion 21% 7,209 ton decrease of MSW due to yard waste program and other waste reduction efforts

Residential v. County Recycling Rates 58.0% 46.8% As reported to VA DEQ. Includes 5% DEQ credits.

Residential Waste Profiles April 2015 – March 2016 April 2016 – March 2017

Overall MSW in Arlington Arlington County MSW Management in 2016* Arlington County MSW * Includes Va. source reduction & reuse credits MSW generation has declined by ~34% since 2004

Other Benefits 1,300 tons of topsoil created 600 tons of avoided dirt disposal Equates to $7,500 in avoided disposal costs for dirt Additional cost avoidance of approx. $10,000 in top soil purchase costs Creating topsoil (660 cubic yards) for Laporte Facility project

Mulch Quality Mulch meets the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) standards established by the U.S. Composting Council. Test results, indicate a high level of integrity and “vigor” suitable for plant growth and soil sustainability. Mulch is monitored for persistent herbicides

In-Vessel Composter Unit School Pilot Project Special Events Collection

Next Steps? Success of yard trimmings collection program validates future food scraps collection program Processing infrastructure & capacity key Consideration of other program costs (in-home pails, bags, etc.) Targeting FY19 for food scraps collection

Per Household Per Month Disposal/Processing Cost Costs of Managing MSW   Collection Cost Per Household Per Month Disposal/Processing Cost Per Ton Trash $4.88 $43.16 Recycling $3.40 Rebate: $9.91 (average from July 2016–April 2017) Yard Waste $2.84 $32.00 (May–October) (November–March: taken to EPRY) Food Waste Additional $0.39 Estimated $35.00–$39.00

Thank You! Questions? skruljac@arlingtonva.us