Every Other Week Garbage Pilot CRRA Conference 2016

Purpose of Pilot Introduce food scraps diversion to residential customers Determine if reducing frequency of garbage collection would: Save money Increase amount of food scraps diverted

980 Homes, 1-8 units with carts Pilot Area 980 Homes, 1-8 units with carts Zone 1 415 homes 9% rowhouses 4% small MFD Zone 2 565 homes 11% rowhouses 6% small MFD Population: 76,000 Homes with cart service: 14,500

Service Changes Current Services Weekly Garbage EOW Yard Trimmings EOW Recycling Changes – Zone 1 Weekly Organics Changes – Zone 2 EOW Garbage Weekly Organics Typical Rowhouses 24-gallon food scraps cart for Rowhouses

Garbage Cart Size Distribution Pilot Parameters No Opt Outs Garbage cart upsize subject to current rates (14 during pilot, 2%) Garbage Cart Size Distribution 20 gal 32 gal 64 gal 96 gal 25% 60% 13% 2%

Outreach Materials 4 free Garbage Tags for Zone 2 Side Saddle and 13 gallon bags

Data Collection Lid Flipping Collected Load Weights Cart Samples 120 Homes in each zone - checked carts 5 times Looking for presence of food, contamination, odors, flies, maggots, evidence of rodents Collected Load Weights Cart Samples Characterized waste from 40 homes (20 each zone) Customer Survey

Data Collection Visual Load Checks Cart Set Out Counts Observed dumped loads 4x Cart Set Out Counts Once per month Extra Garbage Bags and Overfull Cart Counts

Participation Lid Flipping Cart Samples Survey

EOW Wrong Day Set Outs No Garbage Day First Second Third Fourth Carts Out 62 23 21 % of Total 11% 4%

Collected Tons - Garbage Average pounds per Household per Week   Pre-Pilot July – Dec 2014 Pilot July – Dec 2015 Decrease Zone 1 19.4 14.8 24% Zone 2 8.8 55%

Collected Tons - Organics Average pounds per Household per Week   Pre-Pilot July – Dec 2014 Pilot July – Dec 2015 Increase Zone 1 13.9 16.2 17% Zone 2 20.1 45%

Waste Generation and Diversion Average Pounds per Household per Week Cart Samples Waste Generation and Diversion Average Pounds per Household per Week   Zone 1 Weekly Zone 2 EOW Waste Generated 18.4 18.1 Food Scraps Generated 8.0 10.4 Food Scraps Diverted (in organics cart) 5.2 8.6 Waste Diverted 29% 47% Food Diverted 66% 82% Total Food Available

Nuisances Zone 1 - Weekly Zone 2 - EOW Vectors Odors Garbage Carts 6 4 3 Organics Carts 10 7 2 Totals from 5 field audits of 120 homes in each zone Performed in August, September and March

Customer Survey Zone 1 Weekly Zone 2 EOW Households 415 565 Responses 94 181 Response Rate 23% 32% # of Comments 60 138 Post cards sent to all households with a link to Survey Monkey Call us for paper or phone survey Offered three $100 gift cards as incentive

Special Wastes

Satisfaction - Overall

Satisfaction – EOW Garbage 55% 45%

Program Interest Among Mountain View Pilot Participants

Garbage Cart Level - EOW Field Counts – Overfilled Garbage Carts Zone 2 – average 7% of homes weekly Citywide – average 3-4% of homes weekly

Garbage Tags Used - EOW Field Counts – Extra Garbage Bags Zone 2 – average 2.5% of homes weekly Citywide – average of <0.5% homes weekly

Option Comparisons Option 1 Option 2 Weekly EOW Annual Diversion (tons) 2,350 (?) 3,525 Overall Reduction to Landfill 4% 7% Annual Costs $435,000 $80,000 Cost per Ton Diverted $185 $23 Monthly Rate Increase $2.15 $0.30

City Council Direction Yes to a food scraps program (6-1) Prefer Zone 2 program - Weekly Organics and EOW Garbage (4-2-1) Explore “Opt In” to Weekly Garbage (for a fee) Community Outreach Decision in Fall

Current Work Rate Review Cart Sizes Messaging Pricing to encourage a cart upsize over weekly service Cart Sizes Eliminate 20 gallon? Add 48 gallon? Messaging Counteract perception - “half the service for the same price” No decrease in overall number of cart collections – just different frequencies

Questions? Contact Info: Lori Topley (650) 903-6488 lori.topley@mountainview.gov