HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 05/05/2009 - ITEMS RELATING TO TRASH SERVICES ITEM NUMBER: 29 A-B
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: May 5, 2009
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry
Ann Turnquist
Susie Gordon
SUBJECT
Items Relating to Trash Services.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution and the Ordinance on First Reading.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 052, 2009, Amending Section 12-19 and Article XV of
Chapter 15 of the City Code Relating to Trash Collection.
B. Resolution 2009-046 Directing the City Manager to Develop a Pilot Trash Service District
Within a Portion of the City.
Original Problem Statement:
"In what ways can the City reduce the impacts of trash collection services in Fort
Collins, addressing issues of the cost of street wear, air quality, neighborhood
aesthetics, noise, and other neighborhood impacts? Are there ways that the City
might also improve diversion rates for recyclables?"
On December 9,2008,City Council and staff met for the fourth work session on this topic to review
policy alternatives developed from the Trash Services Study. Council was asked to review several
implementation alternatives for which staff could develop detailed proposals. Council expressed
support for a variety of regulatory changes which were proposed, suggesting that staff evaluate the
possibility of creating a pilot trash district for a portion of the community. Based on those
discussions, staff has developed two items for Council consideration:
1. An ordinance which implements the highest priority items from the list of additional
requirements proposed at the December 9 work session. These changes focus on requiring
haulers to take actions that will improve recycling diversion rates and improve the pricing
incentives of the Pay-as-you-throw Ordinance.
2. A resolution directing staff to develop a pilot trash district in a portion of the community.
This pilot would change the market for trash services from a purely open competitive market
for trash services to a mix of City-contracted service and an open competitive market.
May 5, 2009 -2- Item No. 29 A-B
BACKGROUND
Issues related to trash collection, recycling and the impact of a large number of trash vehicles on
neighborhoods have been before City Council a number of times over the past 20 years. In 1995,
concerns about adverse impacts of trash trucks in neighborhoods led to a Council resolution and
goals to reduce the number of trucks and for greater consolidation of residential trash services. The
City conducted a study regarding trash districting in 1998,and at that time City Council established
a goal to divert 50% of the community's waste stream from landfill disposal by 2010.
In directing staff to undertake the 2008 Trash Services Study,Council set forth goals to improve the
community's diversion rate and reduce the impact of trash trucks on residential streets. Some
members of Council also expressed specific interest in improving the "pay-as-you-throw" solid
waste ordinance.
These goals are consistent with key goals of the 2008 Climate Action Plan approved by City
Council in December 2008. They are also consistent with several of the goals in the draft 2006
Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Diversion reviewed by City Council.
All of these goals and discussions have led to a set of Code changes presented for Council's
consideration in this Ordinance.
Summary of Regulatory Changes
Ordinance No. 052, 2009, makes several significant changes to City Code, as well as several
"housekeeping" changes to Chapter 15, "Solid Waste Collection and Recycling Services" and
Chapter 12, "Collection and Disposal of Refuse, Rubbish and Recyclables." The goals of these
Code changes are to increase the pricing incentive for solid waste customers to reduce trash and
improve recycling diversion rates:
• Change the "pay-as-you-throw" (PAYT) provision of the City Code to implement pure
volume pricing for trash collection and eliminate the current base rate component of the
PAYT pricing formula;
• Create a rate formula for haulers to use when they offer a pre-paid bag/tag level of trash
collection service;
• Require haulers to offer 65 or 95 gallon single-stream recycling containers(poly-carts)upon
request effective January 1, 2010;
• Allow haulers to move to twice-monthly recycling service once poly-carts have been
provided to customers;
• Add data reporting requirements for residential haulers and increase the annual license fee
from $3 0 per year to $100 per year;
• Clarify provisions of the "Group Accounts" section of Chapter 12 to include provision of
recycling poly-carts to group account (HOA) members who contract for service;
May 5, 2009 -3- Item No. 29 A-B
• "Housekeeping" changes to the ordinance include clarifying that trash and recyclables may
not be commingled by haulers upon collection, clear marking of recycling vehicles, proof
of Department of Transportation registration of all trash vehicles, and clarification of the
confidentiality of certain hauler-provided data.
Trash Services Pilot District Resolution
In addition to the ordinance amendments,staff has outlined ideas for how to implement a Pilot Trash
District. This option was raised at the December 9, 2008 work session as Council was discussing
the Market Option of creating a city-wide trash services contract, or trash districting system.
Council suggested considering a pilot trash district in a portion of the community, rather than
implementing the strategy city-wide.
The proposed resolution directs staff to develop a specific proposed pilot district, including the
necessary enabling legislation to create the district.
Staff has conducted some preliminary work on the concept of a pilot trash district and believes that
it is possible, within the state laws governing solid waste districting, to conduct such a pilot. The
City could develop a trash district for a specific geographic area and award a single contract for trash
services within that area. In this scenario,the City would offer private trash haulers the opportunity
to competitively bid on providing trash and recycling services within the area, with fees billed by
the City on its Utility Bill. A vendor would be selected based on certain criteria:
• Price to customers
• Ability to meet standards for service level,compliance with local requirements and customer
service
• Ability to meet additional conditions outlined in the Request for Proposals, e.g., achieve
minimum diversion rates for recyclables.
A key component of a pilot trash district project will be to carefully analyze and document the
effectiveness of the program. Staff will conduct pre- and post-project data collection which will
demonstrate the effectiveness of the project in achieving waste stream reduction goals and in
reducing the impacts of trash vehicles upon streets and other aesthetic issues in the district.
CONCLUSION
A detailed analysis of the proposals, including pros and cons of each component of the proposed
ordinance and resolution, are included as Attachment 1.
On April 8, a meeting was held with representatives from Fort Collins' three licensed residential
trash/recycling collection companies to preview the general concepts of these proposed changes.
In general,the haulers had a number of questions about the PAYT components,and were uniformly
concerned about the idea of piloting a districted trash collection area. Their comments are included
as Attachment 2.
May 5, 2009 -4- Item No. 29 A-B
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Changes to Trash/Recycling System and Amendments to Pay-as-you-throw
Ordinance - Staff analysis, April 28, 2009.
2. Comments from Trash Hauler Meeting, April 8, 2009.
3. Staff summaries from work sessions of December 9,2008, September 23 2008,July 8,2008
and January 8, 2008.
4. Memo from the Natural Resources Advisory Board, April 15, 2009
5. Powerpoint presentation.
City Manager's Office
City ®f City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
Fort Collins Fo Box 580
Fort Collins,CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107-fax
fcgov.com
Attachment 1
Proposed Changes to Trash/Recycling System and
Amendments to Pay-as-you-throw Ordinance
April 28, 2009
Section I - Ordinance Changes
The following changes to Article 15 of the City Code, "Solid Waste Collection and Recycling
Services" and Chapter 12, "Collection and Disposal of Refuse, Rubbish and Recyclables" are
proposed. These code sections include the Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) ordinance, hauler
licensing requirements and recycling regulations. The proposed changes address concepts that
were identified as top priorities by the City Council for improving the community's recycling
and waste reduction programs
1. Rate Changes:
a. Subscription rates will be set based solely on volume of service. No base rate may be
included in subscription rates. Volume rates will be set so that the cost of a second,third
or subsequent can or unit of trash set out for collection each week equals the cost of the
first can of trash. This rate structure applies to pre-established, subscription level
customers. The hauler may charge these rates for the volume of service contracted for,
not for the actual volume collected on a weekly basis. (See Illustration 1)
b. Haulers may charge a fixed rate only to residential customers with intermittent or
bag/tag service. When a hauler chooses to offer this service level, the fixed rate may not
exceed 35% of the monthly, volume-based rate charged for one 32-gallon container per
week (i.e., the cost of a one-can/week"general" subscriber's services). The cost of each
pre-paid bag or tag will be set by the hauler, but may not be less than the cost of the
equivalent amount of trash collected under a subscription rate. (See Illustration 2)
c. No other flat rates may be added to any bills, including fuel surcharges.
d. Haulers will be required to charge customers for over-loaded containers, consistent with
PAYT rates; over-loading occurs if the container lid can't be securely closed.
e. Rate formula changes would be effective July 1 to allow time for haulers to adjust billing
practices and provide notification to customers.
These code changes would revise the current PAYT Ordinance to further create price
incentives for recycling. Currently, haulers charge customers for residential trash service
based on a formula which is set forth in the City Code. It requires that each unit of trash
(bag, gallons, cans, etc.) be charged an equal price, with the option that haulers may charge
an additional base price on all accounts. This proposal would change the pricing structure set
forth in the ordinance to make the cost of each unit of trash equal to the first 32-gallon unit.
This strong pricing message encourages trash customers to recycle more and create less
waste.
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City Collins
Illustration 1
Pay as you Throw Example:
Extra units = Cost of first 32-gallon unit of trash
(Includes recycling service)
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5
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,
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.. r. 4" '
One 32-gallon Second Unit (64 gallon Third Unit(96 gallon
container= container) = container) _
$10 $20 $30
**rates for illustration only; actual rates determined
by hnulor in rmmnlinnro with fnrmuln
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 2
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Illustration 2
Bag Service Example, when offered by hauler
(Includes recycling service)
For extremely low-volume customers who
generate one bag of trash per month, the
cost of recycling and trash services would
be very low: "rates for illustration
Monthly/Base rate $3.50 ($10 x 35%) only; actual rates
determined by hauler
Bag (s) $2.30 in compliance with
Total $5.80/month formula. Bags/tags
purchased from hauler.
If a customer uses 2-32 gallon sized bags per
month, they could save $1.90 per month over
the 32-gallon subscription service ($10/month):
Monthly/Base rate $3.50
I I Bag (s) $4.60
Total $8.10/month
N
I
If a customer uses one-32 gallon sized bag per week, the cost is greater than the cost of
the equivalent amount subscription service (32 gallons per week.) If this level of
service is used consistently, subscription service would be the more cost effective
selection for this customer.
Monthly/Base rate $ 3.50
Bag (s) $ 9.20 ($10 /4.33 = $2.30/bay)
Total $12.70/month
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 3
Fort Collins
Additional Hauler Requirements.: PAYT Ordinance.Changes
Financial Benefits: Costs:
• Savings to customers through effective use of • City administrative costs for enforcement,
PAYT pricing auditing and hauler education and monitoring
• Reduced hauler trash tipping fees as recycling =cost range to be determined
increases(assumes improving recyclable • Increased cost for customers who do not reduce
commodities markets) waste
Achieves: Shortcomings:
• Improved diversion through stronger price • Haulers do not believe that this level of pricing
message, achieving goals of solid waste message will change customer behavior
reduction.
• Reduced CO2 emissions through improved • Increasing cost for larger families that generate
diversion rates, achieving goals of Climate greater waste per household or for homeowners
Action Plan who generate large volumes of yard debris
• When bag service option is provided by • Increases government requirements
haulers,provides incentives for trash customers
to benefit from very low trash generation
practices.
• Helps prolong the life span of local landfills
2. Recycling Code Changes
a. Haulers must provide poly-carts (or"toters")to residential customers for recycling.
A choice of 64-gallon or 96-gallon recycling carts must be offered. Haulers may
charge a damage or loss deposit for the poly-cart container. Some customers may opt
out of receiving the poly-cart because they prefer to use a smaller container or
because of storage space issues. If a customer who opted out chooses to request a
poly-cart at a later date, the hauler must provide such a cart within one billing period
(usually 90 days.)
b. Once recycling poly-carts are delivered to its customers, a trash/recycling company
may collect curbside recycling no less than 2 times per month.
c. Poly-carts must be provided no later than January 1, 2010.
d. When trash trucks are used to collect recyclables, the vehicle must be clearly
placarded with signs as a recycling truck.
Under these code changes residential trash haulers would be required to provide 64 or 96 gallon
recycling toters to all residential customers. Customers who do not desire to have the large toter
because of storage space issues could opt out of receiving the container. Customers who opt out
of the larger containers would be allowed to continue to use existing 18 gallon open-topped
containers. Haulers could charge a damage or loss deposit for the containers. The amount of the
deposit would be determined by the market.
Haulers would be allowed to move to bi-weekly or bi-monthly collection of recyclables after the
large toters are in place for all customers who do not opt to forego them.
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 4
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As the market for a wider variety of recyclable materials has improved, recycling processors
have begun to accept a greater variety of materials in the single-stream curbside recycling
program. Corrugated cardboard and paperboard (e.g. cereal boxes) were added to the list of
recyclables collected at curbside in 2006, and in 2008 haulers began collecting lower grade
consumer plastics marked with the recycling logo as plastics 3-7.
Haulers are currently required to provide a recycling container to all customers who wish to
receive recycling services. With these increases in bulky materials accepted through the
recycling program, customers are increasingly finding that the current 18 gallon recycling box is
no longer adequate for containing all of their recyclable materials. When customers overfill the
18 gallon box, materials may be more susceptible to wind, and customers may be more likely to
put extra recyclable materials in the trash, rather than saving them for future pickup or adding
another box.
In other communities, the use of larger 64 or 96 gallon single-stream toters has increased overall
recycling by 34%. (SERA, Inc. data) The ease of use of the larger containers and the greater
capacity encourages greater diversion and also send a stronger message to customers that they
have greater potential for recycling than is suggested by the much smaller container.
If the larger containers are provided, haulers could be allowed to change to bi-weekly or bi-
monthly recycling service. With the containers 3 to 5 times larger than the 18 gallon box,
customers would have substantially greater capacity for recyclable storage, allowing for less
frequent pick up. Less frequent pick up would reduce the impact of trucks on residential streets
and reduce vehicle miles traveled for recycling.
An additional benefit of the use of the larger containers would be improved aesthetics with larger
recycling containers that are less susceptible to spilling and wind blown recyclables.
Furthermore, when recyclables such as mixed paper are protected from exposure to snow and
rain by the closed lid on poly-carts, their commodity value in the market is greater.
A significant issue for the trash haulers will be the expense of providing the larger containers.
With cost estimates of$45 per unit, this will represent a significant capital outlay for the haulers.
While moving to a bi-weekly or bi-monthly collection system will improve the haulers'
efficiency and reduce costs for collecting recyclables, staff does acknowledge that the toters may
increase overall costs for the haulers.
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 5
Fort Collins
AdditionaLAauler Re u, irements=-La�.,;sin le-stream^Rec clin P: o,iy=carts
j.
Financial Benefits: Costs:
• Significant operational cost savings to haulers • Single stream containers=approximately$45
if recycling changed to bi-weekly service each. Haulers would be allowed to charge a
• Reduced hauler tipping fees as recycling refundable damage/loss deposit to customers.
increases Rate to be set by competitive market
• Reduced trash expenses for customers who
successfully reduce trash in favor of additional
recycling
• Savings to customers through effective use of
PAYT pricing ,
• Lidded poly-carts protect recyclables from
weather, improving their market value
• Lidded poly-carts reduce litter management
costs of clean-up for wind-blown recyclables
Achieves: ; `, Shortcomings:'
• Increased diversion through education and • 64/96 gallon recycling containers will be costly
large single-stream containers for haulers to provide,though cost would be
recoverable over time as haulers save
significant operational costs by moving to bi-
weekly or twice-a-month collection of
recyclables.
• Reduced CO2 emissions through improved • Requires haulers to offer opt-out provisions for
diversion rates, achieving goals of Climate customers who do not want to use a larger
Action Plan recycling container(e.g., if there is not
adequate storage space for a larger container or
customers do not participate in the curbside
program.)
• Alternate week recycling would reduce some • Additional administrative cost to haulers for
truck traffic in neighborhoods, damage to determining which customers wish to receive
streets and vehicle miles traveled by recycling the poly-carts and tracking the locations of
trucks carts once delivered.
• Improved aesthetics with larger recycling • Increases government requirements
containers that are less susceptible to spilling
and wind-blown recyclables
• Preserves customer choice of size of recycling • Public information and outreach efforts to
container publicize new service--$5,000-10,000 one-time
cost to the City
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5, 2009 6
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3. Reporting Requirements:
a. Haulers must provide each truck's Department of Transportation safety inspection ID
number to the City and proof that each truck has been registered with DOT.
b. Haulers must report exact numbers of customers, and also identify exact numbers per
trash subscription level or bag/tag participants.
c. New language underscores that all information reported to the City as confidential
customer records will be maintained as confidential by the City, unless otherwise
required by court order.
During the Trash Services Study, staff found that several pieces of data that would have been
useful in analyzing the community's trash system were not available. These changes to the code
will create additional data reporting requirements for the haulers which will make future policy-
making better informed and data driven.
Additional Hauler Re uirements--Additional'Reporting Requirements
Financial Benefits: Costs:
• Cost to haulers for collecting and providing
additional data
" � Achieves: Short'. ` . `
• Provides better data upon which to make future • Increases government requirements
decisions re: trash system requirements, if
desired goals are not met; and, being able to
more accurately measuring greenhouse gas
emissions that are attributable to solid waste.
• Clarifies what information will be held
confidential by the City.
4. Other
a. License fees for each vehicle will be $100 (up from $30) to help the City cover the
costs of administering the licensing program and PAYT system. .
b. Haulers' service representatives must clearly and accurately describe all components
of the PAYT system (variable rates and recycling rates) to customers, both verbally
and in written communications.
The ordinance includes a recommendation to increase trash hauler licensing fees, which have not
been adjusted recently. The City follows a financial policy of setting fees for municipal permits
and licenses that are commensurate with the direct costs of program administration and oversight
that fall to the City. Since the PAYT Ordinance was adopted in 1995, license fees for trash
vehicles have been $30 each. The proposal is to now increase the fee to $100 per vehicle.
The City's current costs for administering the Pay-as-you-throw ordinance total approximately
$21,232. These costs include staff time for processing the licenses and monitoring licensing
requirements and data, as well as materials for the licenses and truck stickers. The additional
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 7
City of
Fort Collins
$70 per trash/recycling fee that would be collected will enable the City to recover more of the
costs of administering the licensing program, and oversight for the PAYT system. (Although the
City also pays for additional staff time and resources to educate citizens about PAYT, the
indirect costs of the program are not included in this cost analysis.)
The City currently collects $3,750 in license fees from 11 trash companies that offer commercial
and/or residential hauling services (125 vehicles) in Fort Collins. Under the proposed fee,
$12,500 would be collected for the same number of trucks, which would help cover more of the
costs of issuing licenses, follow-up on applications, verifying data, and monitoring licensees'
compliance with the ordinance. The remaining amount of money required to administer the
licensing program ($8,732) comes from Natural Resources Department's budget as part of its
Budgeting for Outcomes offer to the General Fund.
Comparative trash license fees in the Front Range area of Colorado range from $50 to $100 per
vehicle, excluding other application fees that some communities charge. Staff proposes that Fort
Collins' fee be updated to be more similar to other communities and to better cover the costs of
administering the licensing program.
Additional Hauler Requirements—Licens�n'T' 'Changes and Customer.Iuformation '
s
Financial Benefits: Costs:
• Total revenue from licensing fees would • Increased cost to haulers of$70 per truck
increase from $3,750 per year to $12,500 per
year.
x Ach►eves: ,e ' ' Shortcomings.,
'4
• Would generate City revenue from license fees • Increases government requirements
to use in administering programs
• Customer understanding of PAYT ordinance
would increase as haulers are required to
provide such information to new customers or
those changing service levels.
5. General Regulation Changes--"Housekeeping"
Other miscellaneous changes to the City's code regarding solid waste collection,
recycling and disposal (Chapters 12 and 15) will include:
• Change recycling code to prohibit commingling trash and recyclables
• Require haulers to clearly mark any vehicles being used for collection of recyclable
materials with the "chasing-arrow" symbol and term "Recycling"
These two miscellaneous code changes are timely to implement while other sections of
the Solid Waste code are amended. The first amendment would be to change the code to
prohibit the commingling of trash and recyclables. The current code makes it a violation
to "dispose" of recyclables in the landfill. Technically, this violation would occur outside
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5, 2009 8
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the City limits, making enforcement difficult for the City. This change would clarify that
commingling of trash and recyclables is prohibited.
Second, the City has received a number of complaints recently where residents believe
that a trash hauler is collecting recyclables in a trash vehicle. In discussing this with the
haulers, they have shared that they sometimes use a trash truck to collect a load of single-
stream recyclables (since they no longer are obliged to use split-box trucks for dual-
stream materials) and deliver the materials to the recycling facility. This cross-use of
equipment may create confusion with residents who believe that their recyclables are
being treated as trash. The requirement that vehicles being used for collecting
recyclables be clearly marked as such would eliminate this confusion and ensure that
commingling regulations could be better enforced.
Additional Hauler Requiremenis-``General Regulation'Changes
Financial Benefits Costs
• Cost to haulers to create and use magnetic or
similar placards for trash trucks when used as
recycling vehicles
Achieves: Shortcomings:
• More effective enforcement
• More effective communication with residents
about the destination of their recyclables
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 9
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Section II - Pilot Trash District
In addition to the ordinance amendments, staff has outlined ideas.for how to implement a Pilot
Trash District. The City could develop a trash district for a specific geographic area and award a
single contract for trash services within that area. In this scenario, the City would offer private
trash haulers the opportunity to competitively bid on providing trash and recycling services
within the area, with fees billed by the City on its Utility Bill. A vendor would be selected based
on certain criteria:
• Price to customers
• Ability to meet standards for service level, compliance with local requirements and
customer service
• Ability to meet additional conditions outlined in the Request for Proposals, e.g., achieve
minimum diversion rates for recyclables
The City is required to provide a 6-month notification period of its intent to contract for services
with one hauler for a sub-area of the community. During this period, the City will issue an RFP,
negotiate a contract and work though implementation issues.
Six months after the notice, the City will issue an exclusive trash/recycling contract for service to
all residential customers in the pilot program area(single family dwellings and multi-family
dwellings of 8 residences or less). The pilot area boundaries will be set by clearly identifiable
landmarks such as major streets.
Terms of the contract for service could include (but are not limited to) provisions such as:
a. The contract will be for a term of at least 5 years.
b. The successful hauler will be required to meet all of the City's ordinance provisions,
including those that may be adopted by the City Council in 2009.
c. The hauler may provide curbside yard waste recycling service (at an additional cost)
to customers upon request.
d. The hauler will provide specific recycling education information to customers who
fail to properly prepare or set out recyclable materials (e.g. friendly "Oops" notices
for a customer who places non-recyclable materials into the recycling container, or
places recyclable materials in the trash container).
e. The hauler may be required to meet a minimum recyclable material diversion rate
such as 20% of the residential waste collection, and/or a pre-established decrease in
the amount of trash collected, per residential customer.
£ The hauler will ensure that all collection vehicles are in clean and safe operating
condition, meet DOT standards, and be operated according to manufacturers
specifications for loading (e.g. use of tag axles.)
g. The contract for service will include performance standards for the haulers,
addressing such issues as customer service, missed pick ups etc.
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5, 2009 10
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Issues Analysis:
In developing the general parameters of a Trash Services Pilot District, staff has explored a
number of issues that will need to be addressed.
• Data Collection and Analysis:
Analysis: A key component of a pilot trash district project will be to carefully analyze
and document the effectiveness of the program. Staff will conduct pre- and post-project
data collection which will demonstrate the effectiveness of the project in achieving waste
stream reduction goals and in reducing the impacts of trash vehicles upon streets and
other aesthetic issues in the district. Staff will develop a data plan for the project and
implement plans to do data collection such as a trash and recycling set-out survey. The
set-out survey would be a field study (both within and outside the proposed district)to
gather data about the volumes of trash and recycling which are set out by randomly
selected households during a representative week. By weighing and measuring actual
materials set out for collection on trash day, detailed information can be gathered about
customer behaviors before and during the pilot project.
• Billing and Customer Service:
Analysis: The City would be contracting for trash service within the district and would
provide customer billing for the fees; the additional costs for this service could be
covered by a specific additional fee in customers' trash bills. Without this automatic
billing for all customers, some customers may be able to choose not to participate in the
pilot and continue with their existing hauler. This would defeat the goals of reducing
truck traffic and undermine the pilot district's effectiveness. The City may determine that
changes in accounts such as start-up for new accounts or discontinuation of services will
be handled by City customer billing staff. However, the City anticipates that the
contracted hauler would provide first-line response to other customer service issues such
as poly-cart delivery/maintenance, missed collection or other performance issues.
• Contract for Pilot Trash District will be for a term of not less than 5 years, and
preferably 7 years.
Analysis: A successful bidder for the trash district will need to acquire additional
equipment to serve the pilot district, including trash and recycling vehicles, toters or
poly-carts for trash and recycling, and other business equipment. In order to give a high
quality, low bid for the service, they will need to be able to amortize their equipment
purchases over a reasonable period of time, such as 5 —7 years. A longer term contract
would also make it more difficult for one company to provide an artificially low bid to
secure the contract in order to drive out other competitors for the future. Any contract
issued for a period greater than 5 years will need to City Council approval under the
Purchasing Code.
• The Pilot District would include 5,000 to 10,000 households.
Analysis: The pilot district would need to be of a large enough size to attract quality
bids. This would likely represent an area greater than one Council district in size. This
size district could be bid on by a company with approximately 4 trucks, if the trucks were
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5, 2009 11
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fully automated. The boundaries of the district should be clearly defined as by major
streets so that as Council district, census district or other boundaries change, the pilot
trash hauling district would be well defined.
• Establish a Pilot District with a variety of housing types.
Analysis: The geography of the district needs to be factored into how a hauler will bid
on the proposal and what price to.charge. For instance, it is possible that a district that
contains many older homes with alleys would be more expensive to serve than an area of
newer development with curbside service on uniform streets. If an area with a great deal
of alley service is included, bids could be slightly higher than if it featured more HOAs or
new development.
• Implementation will begin with 6-month notice to haulers in approximately Summer
2009.
Analysis: State statutes require a 6-month notice period to the existing trash haulers
before the City begins contracting for trash service; the haulers then have 30 days
following the notice to respond and let the City know if they are interested in
participating in the process. At the earliest, the required notification period will put
implementation into late 2009.
• The City's implementation costs would be covered within the charges on customer bills.
Analysis: The City will incur additional costs for both administering the contract and
billing for a trash service fee. The City will need to include an administrative charge on
each account to cover these costs. When the City agrees on a price per account, it will
add the overhead charge prior to billing the customers, so that the monthly charge reflects
the total true cost of the service.
Pilot Districted Trash Service '
Financial Benefits: Costs:
• Potential savings to City for street • City implementation costs=$50,000—$100,000
maintenance= $40,000-50,000 (one-time costs)
• Potential savings to some of the District's • Ongoing City administrative costs=$25,000 -
residents=lower monthly rates with increased $50,000 annually; not including City billing
efficiency of system (based on experience of costs
other communities)
Achieves: Shortcomings:
• Reduced Truck Traffic • Customer concern re: loss of choice
=> Trash truck related street damage
would be reduced in a portion of the
community--$40,000-50,000 per year
savings in street maintenance(could be
more because we don't know how many
trash vehicles are over legal weight limits)
40 tons+ in reduced CO2 emissions
=> Less fuel consumed by haulers
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5, 2009 12
Frt Collins
Achieves: Shortcomings:
Continued Continued
• Improved neighborhood aesthetics within pilot • Current haulers will be concerned that new
district with fewer days of trash cans on haulers to community would be able to
streets, more uniform containers arid less compete for business in pilot district
noise
• Opportunity to gain experience before • Some haulers will lose business. These
implementing change to entire community, haulers may include locally owned, long-
if successful term businesses
• Increased safety within pilot district with • Fear of cost increases causes concern for some
fewer trucks in neighborhoods residents. Actual cost of service under revised
system would be unknown until bids are
solicited(though bids need not be accepted if
offers represent significant cost increase)
• More readily available tools for increased • Customers would be required to pay a City
diversion—as terms of the contract, City could service fee, and thus lose choice of haulers,
require successful bidder(s)to: which is an objection by many residents who
4 Achieve minimum diversion rates commented on the issue
4 Offer yard waste at additional charge with
a set formula approved by the City
J Build in requirement for audit/data
verification by independent auditor
approved by City
• Reduced overall cost with greater system • Bigger government and more governmental
efficiency due to economies of scale requirements a negative for some
J Other communities pay less after contract
for service established
4 Some in HOAs already enjoy these rates—
others could benefit too, creating more
"social equity"
J Increased operational efficiency for hauler
selected
4 Competition preserved when bidding on
contract
• Greater leverage to guarantee no overweight • Haulers concerned that a large, national
vehicles if include contractual requirement for company may make an artificially low initial bid
random weighing of trash trucks to receive the contracts,then increase prices in
future years when local businesses no longer
able to compete
• Smaller area impacted than with city-wide • Some believe that prices for service would go up
districting under this model
• Could choose an area where few HOAs • Haulers believe that a contracted hauler system
exist or a mix of housing types exists would provide lower level of service because of
lack of day-to-day competition.
• Could be a demonstration of improved • Some or all of the current haulers will not be
efficiency and lower rates for the rest of awarded the district. This could significantly
the community impact a local business.
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study, May 5,2009 13
City
F6rrt Collins
Achieves: Shortcomings:
Continued Continued
• Administrative costs for administrative staff,
program oversight, and auditing
• Implementation costs similar to full City
contracting; includes billing programming,
administration, etc.
• If price to customers lower than open
market, non-districted residents may object
to not being included. If price to some
customers higher than open market,
districted residents will object.
• May require hiring consultant to develop
RFP and implement pilot
• Current economic conditions may make it
difficult for haulers to secure financing to
make the required investment in new
equipment, including vehicles, single-stream
toters, etc.
• Selection of a neighborhood/area for the
pilot project which is in an older
neighborhood may bias the results of the
pilot toward higher than average costs to
provide service, (e.g., more alley service)
• If current trash rates have been held down
because of the uncertainty of the local
market,the pilot project could cause non-
districted accounts to see a price increase.
Such an increase could occur with any final
resolution of the districting discussion.
• 5-7 year commitment required by contract
will lead to added administrative City
staffing for billing and administration. If
pilot fails to be renewed, staff will need to
be reduced.
Staff Analysis—Trash Services Study,May 5, 2009 14
Attachment 2
Notes from Meeting with Fort Collins Residential Trash Haulers
April 8,2009
Present: John Puma, Ray Meyer, and Noreen Flood (Ram Waste); Melissa Kolwaite and Dan DeWaard
(Waste Management); Matt Gallegos and Mark Glorioso (Gallegos Sanitation)
Staff: Ann Turnquist, Susie Gordon, John Stokes, Rosemarie Russo
Ann described the two elements of the staff proposals that will be submitted to Council for their May 5,
2009 regular Council meeting:
- First Reading of an Ordinance with code changes related to trash hauler regulations; and
- A Resolution directing staff to develop a pilot trash district.
Comments were requested from the haulers regarding these specific questions:
- Rate re-structuring; is it workable to eliminate the base rate and reduce the relative costs of 2"d
and 3`d can/week trash service to 80% of one-can rates?
- Poly-carts for recycling
- Biweekly versus bi-monthly recycling collection
- Bag service rates
- Pilot trash district
Haulers' Discussion
The haulers were very concerned about the changes that the Council discussed at the last work session
(December 9) and which staff discussed in detail with the haulers on April 8. They were concerned
about both the regulatory changes that will be presented in the ordinance on May 5 and the details of the
proposed pilot trash district that Council suggested at the last work session. The following summarizes
the concerns they expressed:
Ordinance Chances:
• Several haulers expressed concerns about the amount of changes, the significance of the changes,
and the lack of time that they have to react before the proposals are reviewed by Council.
• RecyclinjPoly-cart concerns: Staff discussed the requirement that the haulers provide a 65-95
gallon recycling poly-cart for each residential customer. This was one of the key alternatives that
Council discussed at the December 9 work session. Concerns include:
- The haulers believe that they must be able to charge a deposit or a usage fee for recycling
poly-carts.
- They will need significant lead-time to buy the carts (it could take at minimum 60-90
days).
- Difficult to determine how many customers will go to the larger carts versus staying with
the smaller tubs.
- This investment could cost $1 million(e.g. 20,000 customers x $45 per cart = $900,000.)
Plus, it will cost another $20,000— 50,000 to get the equipment on the road. It's very
hard to get credit from the banks to buy equipment these days, even if a company has
good credit.
• One hauler also noted that they gave 65-gallon recycling carts to some customers in a Windsor
HOA account and it is working well. Of the 200 households, 150 requested the 65-gallon cart.
• The haulers did not offer any comments or concerns about moving to a bi-weekly or bi-monthly
recycling collection schedule.
1
Attachment 2
• Rate issues: Staff discussed several proposed rate changes such as changes to the Pay-as-you-
throw ordinance. Though the haulers were reluctant to discuss specifics about rates (a
proprietary issue)they did raise several concerns about the proposals:
- Overages (piling trash above the container) should not be allowed (specifically in a pilot
area but also community-wide). Only allow people to set out overages in pre-paid bags or
tags. Make people buy rolls of bags in advance, using a credit card, as opposed to putting
it on the bill for payment next quarter.
- The proposed formula for restructuring rates without a fixed fee will raise customers'
costs:
- If the City wants to increase PAYT(recycling and waste diversion), rates will increase.
- The haulers commented that they don't like the limitation on flat rates like fuel
surcharges. Because they only bill quarterly, haulers don't have a lot of flexibility to
charge customers when markets change, for instance when the price of recyclables falls or
the price of fuel goes up.
• The City should mandate residents to participate in recycling—that would be the most effective
way to reach recycling goals. Don't keep putting the responsibility on the trash haulers—put it
on the people who are generating the trash.
Pilot Trash District:
The haulers were especially concerned about the proposed pilot trash district. They want to have
more information about how it would work and what the impacts might be to their businesses. Staff
clarified that there won't be a specific proposal before Council on May 5; rather Council will
consider a resolution directing staff to proceed with a pilot project. Several questions were raised
which cannot be addressed until staff develops specific enabling legislation. Comments included:
• There isn't enough time for a hauler to seek legal council on how they will respond to the pilot
district, and on how their company could be impacted if they lose customers within the
designated pilot district.
• It's not clear what the Council's goals are for a piloted district. The City needs to establish
baseline data to be able to determine if it is meeting the goals. For instance, if the goal is to
reduce traffic, the City should be able to specifically measure changes in damage to streets. If
the goal is to increase recycling, you need to know how much more recycling occurs as a result
of changes that are made.
• Even if the City does the billing, the hauler will incur costs of setting up an account management
system to document overages, etc. This cost would need to be built into a bid for the contract.
• In this down economy, the pilot district will mean trash company employees will lose jobs.
Don't assume that there will be a shift in employees from one company to another.
• Pilot District Questions:
- How will the City handle existing relationships with customers if their hauler doesn't win
the bid for the pilot district; what will happen to their accounts and existing contracts with
HOAs?
- Will the pilot district contractor be required to use automated trash collection?
- What happens at the end of five years, when the contract is over—do the other two
haulers get their original customers back?
- A pilot district could bring another new company into the Fort Collins market. Will bids
be open to any hauler?
2
ATTACHMENT 3
City Manager's Ofrrce
City o f City Hall
Collins0 LaPorte Ave.
Fort `v-/ Box580
Fort Collins,CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107-fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Ann Turnquist, Policy and Project Manager
Susie Gordon, Senior Environmental Planner
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager T ) -,
Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager-'
John Stokes, Director of Natural Resources
RE: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study, December 9, 2008
DATE: December 11, 2008
On December 9, City Council and staff met in work session to review a number of alternative
actions that Council can consider about trash services in Fort Collins. Council was presented
with a variety of regulatory changes which were aimed at addressing either the impact of trash
trucks on neighborhoods or improving recycling diversion rates.
Council discussed each alternative and provided staff with direction regarding regulatory
measures which Council would like to take action on in the coming months.
Council also discussed three Market Strategies under which trash collection services could occur
in Fort Collins.
I. Additional Regulatory Requirements Council
Interest in
Pursuing
A. Additional requirements to improve recycling:
A-1 Pay-as-You-Throw Ordinance Enhancements (examining High
the base rate formula)
A-2 Require haulers to offer yard waste collection service Medium
A-3 " Require haulers to offer large, single-stream recycling toters High
A-4 Establish a recycling education partnership with haulers Medium
(focus on education, not"Oops"notices)
A-5 Ban the disposal of corrugated cardboard from the waste Medium
stream
A-6 Licensing Fee Increase Low
A-7 Recycling Program Fee per trash account Low
City Council Members
Trash Services Work Session Follow-up City of
December 11, 2008 Fort Collins
Page 2
Continued..... Council
Interest in
--Pursuing
B. Additional requirements to limit impact of vehicles
B-1 Establish fleet specifications which minimize the impact of Medium
vehicles on residential streets
B-2 Establish a system for monitoring vehicle loads for solid High
waste hauling vehicles (focus on data and enforcement of
weights)
C. Additional requirements to improve oversight
C-1 Establish additional reporting requirements for residential High .
haulers
C-2 Additional Enforcement Medium
C-3 General Regulation Changes Medium
II. Market Options
Market Option A: Open Competitive Market(Status Quo) Low
Market Option B: Dist 'cted Trash Service High
Market Option C: Single Hauler, Exclusive Contract Low
Council added Alternative:
Districting Pilot Project: Create a district in an area of the High
community where few contracted trash agreements exist to test the
districted system and determine if it should be pursued City-wide
Staff will begin to develop a work plan for implementing Council's highest priorities. Since the
Districted Pilot Project has not been analyzed by staff, this will be a high priority for evaluating
and developing a proposal for implementation. Significant administrative issues will need to be
addressed as soon as possible. Staff will also begin to draft code changes for Council's
consideration which will implement the highest priority regulatory changes of interest to Council
Members.
Follow-up issues:
Staff will follow-up on a number of issues over the coming weeks. Questions to be addressed
include:
1. Working with Larimer County:
• What are the total projected costs of adding scales to the Larimer County landfill?
What information would the City be able to collect if scales were in place? Could
weight violations be tracked or enforced if scales were in place?
• Can the City work with Larimer County to establish a composting facility?
City Council Members '
Trash Services Work Session Follow-up City Of I
December 11, 2008 Flirt Collins
Page 3
• Can the City require haulers to use the Larimer County landfill?
2. What number of customers currently use Gallegos' yard waste program?
3. Provide more information on states that ban yard waste, including a map of those states.
4. Has the City looked into recycling "kiosks" around town for easier recycling drop-off?
5. Why is single stream recycling a good idea? Should.it be continued?
6. How can the City ensure that the proposed "minimal charge" for large recycling toters
doesn't work against the PAYT pricing structure?
7. Do other communities recover a specific amount of the cost of hauler licensing through fees?
8. The City should consider lobbying for a statewide ban on E-waste from landfills.
9. What options might the City have for helping establish voluntary neighborhood associations
for trash collection?
10. How do we know what will happen to customer costs for trash service if districts are created.
Staff says other communities have seen prices go down; haulers say they will go up. Which
will it be in Fort Collins? To what extent will results from a pilot be generalizable?
11. Review recycling diversion rates and verify the 24% diversion rate.
12. Many existing multifamily units don't have recycling available. What can the City do about
multi-family recycling opportunities?
On-going Information Needs:
Council Members asked to be kept up to date on two issues that will evolve in the future:
• Council wants regular updates on pursuing emerging technologies for solid waste
management such as waste to energy.
• Council wants to be kept up-to-date on recyclable materials commodities markets.
City Manager's,Office
y City Hall
City"J�/ 0f 300 LaPorte Ave.
Fort Collins FPO
o Box 580
Fort Collins,CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107-fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Ann Turnquist, Policy and Project Manager
Susie Gordon, Sr. Environmental Planner
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager b --
Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager
RE: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update,September 23, 2008
DATE: October 9 2008
On September 23, Council and staff met in Work Session to review the Trash Services Study and
asked for additional information about several questions:
1. What rates do haulers currently charge for residential trash service? How are rates
different for HOA contracts?
Staff has gathered information from a variety of sources to develop a list of residential trash
rates. Sources include information provided by the haulers as a part of their annual
licensing requirements, sample trash bills from customers, and quotes gathered from phone
calls to haulers.
The entire range of subscription rates offered by haulers is $4/month (one 33 gallon can
per week) to $28 /month (three 33 gallon cans per week or one 95 gallon toter.) Staff is
unable to tell whether the extremely low rate of$4 is actually in effect anywhere. We think
it could be a special price that the reporting company offers, for instance to seniors or
military customers. Same goes for the higher rates of$28 - although it is reported to us by
one of the companies, we don't actually know if it is applied to any customers.
The typical rates charged (quoted over the phone) for single subscribers are:
Hauler A=between $10.75 /month (one can per week)to $23 /month (three cans)
Hauler B =between $11.95 /month (one can per week)to $23.95 /month (three cans)
Hauler C =between $14 /month (one can per week)to $23 /month(three cans)
HOA rates are very difficult for us to extract from the reports, but it appears that for HOA
residents, the respective special rates are approximately:
Hauler A= $7 /month (one can)to $14.40/month (three cans)
Hauler B = $8 /month (one can)to $16/month (three cans)
Hauler C= $7.50/month (one can)to $16/month(three cans)
l
City Council Members
Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
September 25, 2008
Page 2
Based on this data, the savings that can be realized by HOA customers, on average, is:
Hauler A= $3.75 /month to $8.60 (35 - 37% lower)
Hauler B = $3.95 /month to $7.95 (33% lower)
Hauler C= $6.50/month to $7 (46% for lower level of service, 30% for higher level
of service customers)
2. When will the landfill have scales? What issues have prevented the Larimer County
Landfill from having scales in the past?
Installing scales at the landfill will be a financial issue for the City and Larimer County.
Purchasing and installing scales is projected to cost between $55,000 and $150,000.
Larimer County does not have funding available for this purchase.
Larimer County has not previously installed scales because it has based its tipping fee price
structure on volumes rather than weights. The County's philosophy for establishing these
prices has been that the weight of materials was not as relevant to its operations as the
volume of materials to be disposed of and covered.
Larimer County staff is concerned that the addition of scales may slow the entry of vehicles
into the landfill, especially on days when large numbers of self-haulers enter the landfill.
The location of the gatehouse, near Taft Hill Road, makes it critical that vehicles can enter
the landfill quickly and not back up onto the roadway. If scales are installed, operational
issues regarding which vehicles are weighed and whether the information is used to charge
fees based on weight rather than volume must be resolved.
As an enterprise fund, the County Solid Waste Department recognizes that by creating a
possible time delay for haulers who take trash to the landfills, or other deterrents associated
with scales, they may cause their customers to patronize other area landfills.
3. What methods might be available to increase hauling densities by voluntary
consolidation of more neighborhoods?
Currently, City staff strongly encourages new developments to establish cooperative
agreements for consolidated trash services as a part of their HOA, starting as early as the
conceptual review stage for new housing subdivisions. This process has been successful in
ensuring that many new neighborhoods have only one hauler providing services to all
residents. Staff from the Natural Resources Department is in the midst of conducting a
survey of known HOAs to determine the number and location of consolidated hauling
agreements.
The Neighborhoods Division has worked with the Natural Resources Department to
encourage neighborhood groups to establish voluntary agreements regarding trash hauling
in areas where HOAs do not exist. The attached handout has been provided to
neighborhood groups to highlight the benefits of voluntary consolidation and working
City Council Members
Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
September 25, 2008
Page 3
together to reduce the number of trash trucks in individual neighborhoods., See Attachment
A.
In the future, if a districted or contracted City-wide service is not pursued, staff will renew
its work with neighborhoods to provide tools for creating voluntary consolidated service.
Handouts that include suggestions for how to establish a consolidated contract will be
provided to all known neighborhood groups and staff will seek opportunities such as
Neighborhood Night Out to circulate information about voluntary consolidation.
Information can also be posted on the City's web site and publicized occasionally to
encourage groups to form voluntary agreements.
4. Could the City charge a truck mileage fee,wherein trash trucks are charged for the
miles that they travel? Would this help pay for the impact of trucks and change the
haulers routing?
Some communities, primarily in California, have imposed "refuse vehicle impact fees"
based on deterioration caused by the size and weight of solid waste vehicles. These
communities all seem to operate under franchise agreements for the provision of a City-
wide trash service. The fee is imposed on the hauler as a condition of the contract for
service. An example of such a fee from Livermore, CA is included as Attachment B. The
City's ability to charge a similar fee under Colorado law would need to researched and
evaluated by the City Attorney's Office.
Staff believes that charging a fee based on mileage would be difficult to administer because
existing haulers provide service both inside and outside the city limits, often with the same .
trucks on the same run. They also mix residential and commercial loads. If the goal is to
ensure that the haulers have the most efficient routes possible to minimize unnecessary
trips, staff believes that the effect of high diesel fuel prices over recent months are a
significant incentive to be efficient. If the goal is to create a revenue stream to cover street
damage, alternatives might include revisiting the Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF)
last considered by City Council in 2005 or pursuing changes to the trash haulers licensing
fee. Either of these options would require a careful analysis of the fee level and the nexus
between the fee and the City's costs.
5. Is it possible to regulate where haulers serve in a way that takes into account where
their current routes are and only allowing them to serve neighborhoods where they
have a certain level of density?
Colorado State Statues outline a method for local governments to use in regulating the
residential trash hauling market which is geared toward the competitive practice of trash
districting or providing a city-wide contract for service. In the 1970s, efforts to informally
divide up the community based on where various haulers had the greatest number of
customers were met with legal challenges from the State and charges of collusion and price
r,
City Council Members
Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
September 25, 2008
Page 4
fixing. Staff believes that the City's options for regulating where haulers serve are limited
to the awarding of contracts through a competitive process.
6. Is it possible to divide the city into the EXISTING HOA "trash districts," plus one?
Each HOA or neighborhood group that is already contracting with a single hauler
would become a district. If other HOAs or neighborhood groups want to constitute
themselves into a trash district, let them do that. Could the city then set up rules,
extending those we already have, about PAYT, recycling, etc., for all hauling? Could
we consider the HOAs to be commercial accounts?
The Trash Services Study consultant, R3 Consulting, has advised us that the difficulty for
the City in managing multiple contracts, which is considerable, should only be undertaken
for three or fewer "districts." In fact, the optimal system to achieve council's objectives
would be a single-contract agreement. The more districts created, the lower the economies
of scale and the more administrative requirement. Staff strongly feels that it would be
impractical to create "mini-districts," each of which would require City administration and
oversight.
The City of Lafayette used a different approach than creating separate districts for HOAs
by exempting HOAs with existing written contracts for services. Lafayette's experience
was that, despite being excluded from the City-wide contract for service, many of the
HOAs later requested to participate in the City's program because of better pricing and less
administrative work for the HOA. Administrative issues in pursuing this option would
include identifying and defining eligible HOAs, determining the applicability of the
exemption to "informal"voluntary consolidations, maintaining the inventory of HOAs
exempt from the ordinance, and on-going administration of the exemption. Staff is also
concerned about the effectiveness of the bidding process when a significant number of
neighborhoods may choose to opt-out. Such uncertainty may lead the haulers to bid a
higher overall price for the service because they will not clearly know how many accounts
will be available to them in a district or city-wide contract.
Categorizing HOAs as commercial accounts and exempting them from the City contract
presents several significant issues. In 2004, the City amended the Pay-as-you-Throw
ordinance to clarify that HOA accounts are to be considered residential, not commercial
accounts. This enables the City to apply PAYT provisions to HOAs. Previously, haulers
often chose not to offer PAYT opportunities to those customers who participated in
consolidated accounts. If the City reverts to classifying HOAs as commercial customers,
then the city would need to again amend the PAYT ordinance to include commercial
customers. Staff is certain that if the City attempts to change the rate structure for
commercial customers it is likely to raise significant objections from trash haulers and
commercial customers - possibly even litigation.
7. If Council decides to go with some sort of organization based on geography, can we
require commercial accounts to use the hauler assigned to their area? More
City Council Members
Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
September 25, 2008
Page 5
generally, could someone offer us a one-pager on what rules we can and cannot
impose on collection of trash from businesses and apartment houses?
Staff s understanding of the State legislation regarding regulation of commercial trash
hauling is that, while the City can become involved in commercial hauling regulations, it
may not regulate rates, impose mandatory fees for government provided services or require
commercial/multi-family trash customers to use the City's trash services over the services
of a private trash hauler. Staff believes that requiring commercial customers to use a
specific hauler could be in conflict with State requirements.
Staff does believe that the City could create requirements regarding trash and recycling
collection that would be applicable to both residential and commercial customers. Such
requirement might include requiring PAYT pricing structures (not the specific rates),
requiring the haulers to offer recycling services to commercial customers as a part of the
base pricing, or other requirements aimed at increasing recycling rates (e.g., corrugated
cardboard ban.)
On December 9, Council and staff will meet again in Work Session to further discuss several
options for managing trash services in Fort Collins. Options may include the following:
o Additional Hauler Requirements
■ Pay as you Throw Ordinance Changes
■ Yard Waste
Large, Single-stream Recycling Toters
■ Recycling Education Partnership
■ Licensing fees per Account
■ Vehicle Specification
■ Corrugated Cardboard Ban
o Districted Trash Collection Contracts for Service with Additional Hauler
Requirements
o City-wide Trash Collection Contract for Service with Additional Hauler
Requirements
Staff looks forward to discussing these options in greater detail on December 9.
Attachment A
Community Planning and Environmental Services recycled Ye Gaper
Natural Resources Department
• ,ter
City of Fort Collins
14
Ideaso� eons. - h WE-,
cyc ing
t � a
3_
LE
For information on trash and recycling consolidation, contact the
City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department at 221-6600.
281 N_Colleee Ave • PC) RnY ';An • Fnrt C'nllinc roam "1_A4nn . T:nx fo7m I M_fi-n
Corso knit
d Define the boundary areas of a neighborhood you want to consolidate. Others have
defined their area from as little as a street or two, to several blocks.
Call several of the trash haulers in Fort Collins to find out their interest and terms for
working with your neighborhood to consolidate trash and recycling services. Haulers
will often give you a price quote for consolidated services, generally depending upon
the size of your neighborhood.
v Contact the people in your defined neighborhood. Provide information about the
benefits of consolidating, the terms expressed by the hauler you have chosen and how
to sign-up for the service.
d Follow-up with neighborhood residents to answer questions, provide additional
information etc.
d Provide new people moving into the neighborhood information about consolidated trash
and recycling services and encourage them to sign-up with the `neighborhood hauler.'
d Celebrate your neighborhood's success. This can be as simple as a `Thank you' note or
as elaborate as a block party.
NOTES:
® Homeowner associations sometimes develop a written contract with a hauler for
consolidated services. In these instances, the membership of the homeowners'
association has agreed to consolidate as an association.
® Sometimes it takes several months for people to switch haulers because they have
prepaid for service.
2
.s
Fort Cui, IN""ies
BFI Waste Systems
223-0154
Dick's Trash Hauling Service
482-1674
Gallegos Sanitation, Inc.
484-5556
Ram Waste Systems, Inc.
226-3396
S & S Sanitation
482-9093
Waste Management of Northern Colorado
482-6319
IS
r e t u�i umbers:
��
Larimer County Landfill
498-5770
City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department
221-6600 (provides information on precycling, grasscycling, recycling and composting)
City of Fort Collins Neighborhood Resources Department
221-6091
3
(Modify according to your specific needs)
(Date)
Dear Neighbor:
Did you know...
0 The impact of one trash truck on a residential street is equal to approximately 300 to 400 cars?
0 An average of six trash trucks travel on our residential streets every week?
0 Nearly one third of our city's neighbors voluntarily consolidate trash and
recycling services?
0 Over two thirds of communities that have tried voluntary trash
and recycling consolidation services are successful?
Until recently, I didn't.
It makes sense for us as a neighborhood to consolidate trash and recycling services with one company.
Some of the benefits of reducing to a single trash collection service include: Increased residential safety,
especially to children, less traffic congestion and noise, enhanced air quality and decreased wear and tear
on road surfaces caused by heavy vehicles.
I have contacted several trash hauling agencies about working with our neighborhood. The most
economical company is `XYZ'. Specifically, each bag or container of trash would cost $X and curbside
recycling is provided at no extra charge. In order to receive this price, at least xx% of our neighborhood
must sign with 'XYZ' company.
Improving the aesthetics of our neighborhood is an additional benefit as the number of days trash cans will
be visible on the street is greatly reduced. You can see why my goal is 100% participation over the next
fews months. If you have not signed-up with `XYZ' company, I urge you to register. Hopefully, we will
reach our goal soon!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me at #555-1234.
Sincerely,
W. J. Trash
4
Attachment B
City of Livermore, CA
Article X. Refuse Vehicle Impact Fee
8.08.900 Purpose of article and findings.
The city council hereby finds and declares as follows:
A. Traffic associated with solid waste, recycling and yard waste collection vehicles (refuse
vehicles)places a significant burden on city streets and is a significant cause of street damage; and
B. The city council finds that unless certain actions are taken, pavement damage related to refuse
vehicles will result in adverse impacts including accelerated deterioration of pavement conditions
on city streets,reduced ride quality, increased vehicle repairs, increased energy consumption, and
disruption to traffic flow. Implementation of the refuse vehicle impact fee will prevent these
undesirable consequences, allowing the city to maintain the streets and roads in a good condition
and avoid the deterioration of pavement to the point where extensive rehabilitation or
reconstruction becomes necessary at a higher cost; and
C. The city council also finds that, in the absence of this chapter imposing a refuse vehicle impact
fee, existing and future sources of revenue will be inadequate to fund a substantial portion of
pavement repair for the city's streets and roads necessary to avoid unacceptable pavement
condition indexes in the city created by refuse vehicle impacts; and
D. Accordingly, it is the intent of the city council to adopt by this chapter a fair and equitable
method of securing some of the funds necessary to repair the damage caused to city streets and
roads as a result of refuse vehicles to preserve acceptable pavement conditions throughout the city;
and
E. The city commissioned an independent study that determined the annual street repair costs
attributable to damage caused by refuse vehicles is approximately$838,000 annually; and
F. The city council has considered that independent study analyzing the cost to repair street
damage caused by refuse,vehicles; and
G. The city council has determined that the cost incurred by the city for such street repair resulting
from refuse vehicles should be defrayed by the imposition of fees charged by the city's franchised
solid waste services provider to cover at least a portion of those costs; and
H. The city council has determined that the following fees will cover a portion of the costs to the
city for its street repair costs resulting from refuse vehicles; and
I. The city council is aware of and understands the preemption issue presented by California
Vehicle Code Section 9400.8; and
J. The fee imposed by this chapter is distinguishable from the fee found to be preempted by
"County Sanitation District No. 2 v. the County of Kern" in that the refuse vehicle impact fee is
based on reasonable costs of repairing and restoring streets to previous levels whereas the county
of Kern imposed its fee pro rata based on the number of tons hauled in the county; and
K. The refuse vehicle impact fee is a regulatory fee imposed for the general welfare of the city and
as an exercise of the city's police power pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the California
Constitution; and
L. The city does not grant privileges for using city streets. City streets are open to all members of
the driving public generally; and
M. Refuse vehicles have the same right as any other vehicle to drive over city streets; and
N. This chapter may not be enforced by an injunction which prevents a construction vehicle from
driving over city streets until payment of the fee is made; and
O. The proposed refuse vehicle impact fee has been noticed consistent with California Government
Code Section 66018 and a hearing was held on the matter on June 25, 2007. (Ord. 1818 § 1, 2007)
8.08.901 Fees.
A. An annual refuse vehicle impact fee of$838,000 shall be assessed to the city's franchised solid
waste collection services provider and remitted to the city on a monthly basis. The fee may be
amended from time to time by resolution of the city council.
B. Character of Fee. The city council has determined that the fee is related to the cost of repairs
provided and shall not exceed the estimated reasonable costs of the repair. This fee is not imposed
as an incident of property ownership within the meaning of Proposition 218, California
Constitution, Article XII1D, Section 6.
C. Collection. Each owner and occupant of the city receiving waste collection services from the
franchisee shall be billed by the franchisee a fee for refuse vehicle impact in accordance with the
rates established by the city council. The fee shall be collected by the franchisee as part of the solid
waste collection fee, in conformance with LMC 8.08.130. (Ord. 1818 § 1, 2007)
8.08.902 Transfer, deposit, use and accounting of fees.
A. Transfer. The franchisee shall convey the refuse vehicle impact fee to the city in accordance
with the franchise agreement on a monthly basis.
B. Deposit. When conveyed to the city, the fees shall be kept in a separate line item account
together with any interest earned.
C. Use of Fee. The fees shall be used only to defray the costs of street repair associated with refuse
vehicular impact. (Ord. 1818 § 1, 2007)
City Manager's Office
Cityof City Hall
`r 300 LaPorte Ave.
Fort Collins Po Box580
Fort Collins,CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107-fax 1
fcgov.com
S
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MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Ann Turnquist,Policy and Project Manager_ l
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager l
Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager
l
RE: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update, September 23,2008
DATE: September 25, 2008 !
On September 23, Council and staff met in Work Session to review the Trash Services Study and
discuss several strategies for addressing the Council's problem statement:
i
"In what ways can the City reduce the impacts of trash collection services in Fort Collins, 3
addressing issues of the cost of street wear, air quality, neighborhood aesthetics, noise,
and other neighborhood impacts? Are there ways that the City might also improve
diversion rates for recyclables?"
t
Council was asked to review five implementation alternatives for which staff will develop
detailed proposals. The five alternatives included:
Option 1: City-wide Contract for Service or Districted Trash Service(includes Pay as You
Throw Ordinance and Recycling Enhancements)
Option 2: Additional License Requirements without Districting
Option 3: Implementation of Recycling Strategies
Option 4: Additional License Requirements and Implementation of Recycling Strategies
without Districted Trash Service j
Option 5: Null Alternative/No Legislative Changes j
i
Council directed staff to develop two alternatives for further consideration: Options 1 and 4
above. Council also asked staff to schedule an additional work session before the end of 2008 to
review specific proposals. Therefore, Staff has added the Trash Services Study to the December
9 work session agenda.
i
Council asked for additional information about several questions: i
1. What rates do haulers currently charge for residential trash service?How are rates
different for HOA contracts? j
2. When will the landfill have scales? What issues have prevented the Larimer County
Landfill from having scales in the past?
4
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1
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1
1
City Council Members
Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
'September 25,2008
Page 2
3. What methods might be available to increase hauling densities by voluntary consolidation
of more neighborhoods?
4. Could the City charge a truck mileage fee, wherein trash trucks are charged for the miles
that they travel? Would this help pay for the impact of trucks and change the haulers
routing?
5. Is it possible to regulate where haulers serve in a way that takes into account where their y
current routes are and only allowing them to serve neighborhoods where they have a
certain level of density?
Staff will address these questions in a follow-up memorandum. Please let us know if you have
any additional questions.
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City Manager'9 Office
city of City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
Fort Collins FPO
o Box580
Fort Collins.CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107-fax
/cgov.com
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Ann Tumquist, Policy and Projects Manager
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager _
RE: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study Update
DATE: July 10, 2008
On July 8, City Council, staff and the City's trash consultant R3 Consulting met in Work Session
to provide an update on the progress of the Trash Services Study. The following summarizes the
discussion and follow-up questions that staff will answer.
R3 Consulting Group has completed its Trash Services Study report, including an analysis of
Fort Collins' current open competitive trash system and a large number of alternative solutions
which address the problem statement offered by the City. The problem statement that staff and
the consultant have been addressing includes:
"In what ways can the City reduce the impacts of trash collection services in Fort Collins,
addressing issues of the cost of street wear, air quality, neighborhood aesthetics, noise,
and other neighborhood impacts? Are there ways that the City might also improve
diversion rates for recyclables?"
Council's feedback regarding the study included the following:
■ Council directed staff to ensure that the project thoroughly addresses diversion issues,
in addition to the collection system issues.
• An overarching concern of Council was to ensure that all policy options need to be
considered as a cost/benefit analysis. Is the net improvement of any action
(regulatory, education, data collection, etc.) great enough to offset the cost to the city,
the hauler and the customers?
• In several cases, Council asked for additional data regarding the current trash hauling
system. Data needs included the number of residential customers served through
HOA contracts, definitive data regarding actual weights of materials sent to the
r
GtV of
F6ft Collins
landfill, detailed current diversion rates, the value of materials that could be diverted
in the future, and the cost of collecting data.
■ An issue that the consultant emphasized and Council supported was the concept that
any action toward increasing diversion must target both incentives to customers to
reduce land filled materials (i.e. through Pay-as- you-throw ordinance) and incentives
to haulers to maximize diversion. Council discussed the concept that haulers could
benefit if the City ensures a level playing field where all haulers are implementing the
PAYT effectively and incentives are created for performance.
■ Council noted that residential waste is only part of the issue because the commercial
customers account for 70% of the community's waste stream. Council also took note
that state law limits much of the regulation of commercial waste collection.
■ Council Members generally agreed that regulations regarding trash truck appearance
shouldn't be considered. This hasn't been an issue in Fort Collins.
Council asked for additional information about a number of questions. Staff will gather this
information and provide it back to Council under separate cover.
Study Data:
I. Explain in more detail the ESAL calculations for street wear caused by trash trucks.
How is a trip in each direction considered to cause twice as much wear as one trip?
How do we analyze the difference between five trucks serving neighborhoods all over
the city versus 5 trucks that each work in their own area?
Review the CO2 emissions calculations. Detail the impact of stops which are spread
out widely across the community versus routes which are clustered together.
3. Can we provide more detailed data regarding the number of HOAs which participate
in consolidated trash service and the percentage of total household that this
represents?
4. Provide more information about the average weight of trash trucks.
Diversion Issues:
5. Provide more emphasis on recycling and diversion rates. Better emphasize the
benefits of increased diversion. Why is it important? What is the impact on air and
water quality? What is the scientific basis for why diversion is good for the
community?
6. Clarify how the 7% total for hauler controlled curbside recycling fits into the overall
27% community diversion rate.
7. Provide the analysis of diversion by method as a pie chart.
8. What is the value of the recyclable material which is currently ending up in the
landfill?
9. Are the current residential haulers asking for a fee or deposit for their recycling tubs?
10. What recycling education do haulers currently provide to customers?
11. Are haulers effectively complying with the Pay-as-you-throw ordinance when they
work with HOAs? Are they offering different size containers with different pricing?
12. What ideas would the haulers have for ways they can control increasing diversion
rates?
13. What are the costs of increased diversion, both to haulers and customers?
City 0, �.
,-Fort Collins
Other:
14. Provide some information about the future of the Larimer County Landfill. Do we
have data regarding the number of trash trucks that go into the Landfill from the City?
How can we standardize the information from haulers to learn accurate weights for
the materials entering the landfill?
15. What percentage of trucks operated by local haulers are already compliant with 2010
EPA standards?
Staff will proceed with its outreach to the community regarding the proposed policy changes.
Based on the feedback from Council, Staff will focus on three alternatives during this outreach:
• Should the City create Trash Districts for residential trash service?
■ Should the City increase regulation of haulers to address issue of noise, air
pollution, overloaded vehicles, enhanced Pay-as-you-throw requirements, yard
waste within the curbside recycling program and other actions that would reduce
the impact of trash trucks on residential neighborhoods?
■ Does the community desire additional programs and/or regulations which would
encourage or require increased residential recycling?
On September 23, Council will again consider this subject. Staff will present the community
feedback that has been gathered over the next two months along with staff recommendations for
next st,,ps to be pursued.
q
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City Manager's Office
I
300 LaPorte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins,CO 80522
City Of Fort Collins Fort
970.224.6107-fax
fcgov.corn
MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council Members
_-�c
FROM: Ann Turnquist, Policy and Project Manager
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager
RE: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study
DATE: January 9, 2008
On January 8, City Council and staff met in Work Session to review the proposed project scope and
timeline for the Trash Services Study which will be completed during 2008.
Council gave staff direction to proceed with the Study, including a range of options from the null
alternative to districted trash service. Council generally agreed that it did not wish to pursue a ..
municipally owned trash utility. Council also asked staff to develop alternatives that made
improvements to the system without harming existing haulers.
Council provided direction to staff to eliminate the proposed survey from the scope of work and to
instead pursue other avenues of public involvement. A series of forums was suggested as a way to
both provide information and gather feedback from community members. Council Members also
suggested that staff might consider doing a survey or poll once options have been developed, rather
than in advance of the data collection and analysis.
In addition to the issues outlined in the staff report, Council Members asked staff to explore several
other issues in the Study, including:
• In what ways can the pay-as-you-throw trash ordinance be made more effective, including
more auditing of trash haulers?
• What detailed information about Fort Collins' recycling and waste diversion rates (including
compost and construction debris) can be provided? Consider applying a "mass balance"or
systems-based approach to analyzing local waste. Explain what is included in the definition
of"waste diversion rate".
• What new concepts could be employed to increase recycling and diversion rates?
• What public/private partnerships might be possible to enhance waste diversion?
a rl" v all l� ra \,vay of 11fe
i
City Council Members
Re: Work Session Follow-up: Trash Services Study
January 9, 2008
Page 2
• What impacts do emerging hazardous waste needs have on trash service (mercury, light
bulbs, televisions, etc.)?
• How many street miles which are built to the new higher standards? Provide a map.
• How many HOAs are in the City; how many participate in consolidated trash agreements,
and how many do not? How many lane miles does this cover? How many of those HOAs
that have agreements still have a few residents who choose not to participate?
• Has more staff been added to recycling/solid waste programs in recent years?
• What technology options might be employed by haulers to address the issues without moving
to a districted model?
• Find out what other communities are doing about trash and recycling. Check with National
League of Cities on the number of cities that do their own trash collection, or that contract it
out.
• How would Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMTs)change under a districted system (i.e. will they
really decrease?)
• How is the impact of trash trucks different from the impact of other large vehicles such as
delivery trucks, recycling trucks, busses, compost trucks, mail trucks, etc?
• What is the affect on air,quality from the acceleration/deceleration of trash trucks versus the
amount of VMT that occurs?
• How do we protect our streets assets?
• How do vehicle weights impact the calculations of trash truck damage to City streets? Does .
the City track violations of over-weight vehicles?
• If there are things that we are doing well, include that information in the report.
Staff will develop and issue the Request for Proposals for the Study with the goal of having a
consultant working on the project as soon as possible.
G:IMGRSI20081CMO MeetingsiCity Council)Work Session Summariesi0108 Trash Sutd}.doc
ATTACHMENT 4
MEMORANDUM
FROM THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
Date: April 15, 2009
To: Mayor and Council Members
From: Liz Pruessner on behalf of the Natural Resources Advisory Board
Subject: Trash Services: Ordinance Changes
NRAB voted unanimously to strongly support changes to City Code resulting from the Trash
Services proposal and we offer the following two recommendations:
• NRAB urges the City to require haulers to offer yard waste collection service.
• NRAB feels it is very important to ban disposal of corrugated cardboard from the waste
stream, particularly from the commercial/industrial sector.
Please feel free to contact me regarding the NRAB's recommendation on this issue.
Respectfully Submitted,
Liz Pruessner, Chair
Natural Resources Advisory Board
970-484-4371
lizpr-u@colostate.edu
cc: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
John Armstrong, Staff Liaison
John Stokes, Natural Resources Director
Trash Services Study
City Council Meeting
May 5 , 2009
F�t
Original Problem Statement
In what ways can the City reduce the impacts of trash
collection services in Fort Collins , addressing issues
ATTACHMENT 5
of the cost of street wear, air quality , neighborhood
aesthetics , noise , and other neighborhood impacts?
Are there ways that the City might also improve
diversion rates for recyclables ?
F�tf
Solid Waste Goals
• 50 % Waste Diversion by 2010
• Reduce truck traffic in neighborhoods
• Improve aesthetics of neighborhoods related
to trash and recycling
Fit,f
Two Agenda Items
a . First Reading of Ordinance --
Solid Waste and Recycling Code
Changes
b . Resolution directing the City Manager to
develop Pilot Trash Service District for
portion of community
F�t [tins
Code Changes
• Pay-as-You -Throw formula changes :
. Each Unit of trash costs the same amount
. Larger volume customers may see price increases
. Clearer price message to customers re : reducing
waste stream
II Effective date : July 1 , 2009
ff � FCityof
Pay-as -you -Throw Example :
Extra units = Cost of first 32-gallon unit of trash
(Includes recycling service)
p � 0
, lit Second Unit Third Unit
(32-gallon container) (64 gallon container) (96 gallon container)
= $10 =$20 = $30
"rates for illustration only;
actual rates determined by hauler city of
FL tf�
Code Changes
• Recycling Changes :
— Haulers required to provide large poly-carts for
recycling
— Haulers may move from weekly to bi -weekly
collection of recyclables
Effective date : January 1 , 2010
a
Other Code Changes
• Clarifications :
— Haulers must charge for overloaded containers
(volume pricing )
— Fuel surcharges not allowed
— Trash and recyclables may not be commingled
upon collection
— Recycling trucks must be clearly marked
• Update licensing fees from $30 to $ 100 per vehicle
FCity
of [ins
Reporting Requirements
• Haulers will provide more detailed information :
. Number of customers
. Service levels
. Recycling container use by size
. Trash vehicle registration
• Confidentiality of customer and proprietary financial
information clarified
F�t
Hauler Concerns
• Cost of recycling poly-carts
• Increased volume pricing cost to customers ,
especially large families
• Recyclables commodities market depressed
• Prohibit fuel surcharges over the PAYT rates makes
it difficult to react to fuel cost increases
F� [tins
Pilot Trash District
[tins
Pilot Trash District Resolution
• Direction to City Manager to develop Pilot Trash
Service District
— City would award contract for service to pilot area
— Term of at least 5 years
— 5 , 000- 10 , 000 customers
— Competitive bids from haulers to provide service
— City would provide billing and customer service
F� [tins
Goals Within Pilot Area :
• Demonstration of effectiveness of districted service
• Reduced trash truck traffic
• Increased aesthetics with uniform containers and
collection days
• Improved efficiency of trash collection system
F�t
Hauler Concerns
• Potential loss of business in proposed pilot area
• New haulers may compete for pilot district accounts
• Assert lower customer service/higher cost in pilot
area
• Eliminates customer choice
• Eliminates opportunity for customized services
F�t [tins
Timeline for Implementation
• 6- month notice to current trash haulers
• Enabling legislation to Council—Summer 2009
• RFP issued—Summer 2009
• Notice to affected residents—early Fall 2009
• Implementation— Early 2010
Fit, [tins
ORDINANCE NO. 0529 2009
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING SECTION 12- 19 AND ARTICLE XV OF CHAPTER 15
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
RELATING TO TRASH COLLECTION
WHEREAS , in 1964, the City first enacted licensure requirements for solid waste collection
services with the adoption of Ordinance No. 042 , 1964; and
WHEREAS , in the intervening years, those licensure provisions have since been modified
and repealed and reenacted, and are now set out in Chapter 15 , Article XV of the City Code ; and
WHEREAS , in June 1995 , the City Council enacted Ordinance No . 058 , 1995 , requiring
residential trash haulers in Fort Collins to apply variable ("pay-as-you-throw") rates and provide
curbside recycling services at no extra charge, in order to encourage the reduction and diversion of
solid waste in residential households ; and
WHEREAS , in March 2000 , the City Council adopted Ordinance No . 022, 2000, updating
the provisions of Chapter 15 , Article XV of the Code in order to provide for more effective
enforcement mechanisms, including recordkeeping and audit requirements ; and
WHEREAS , in April 2004, the City Council adopted Ordinance No . 025 , 2004, clarifying
the application of the pay-as-you-throw system to group accounts, and providing increased
specificity as to how group accounts must be administered in order to accomplish the pay-as-you-
throw objectives embodied in the Code ; and
WHEREAS , since that time, staff has worked to review and monitor the effectiveness of the
pay-as-you-throw system, and has evaluated various means by which the system could be modified
to more effectively encourage waste reduction and recycling; and
WHEREAS , staff has presented its analysis and recommendations to the City Council and
obtained Council feedback regarding the pay-as-you-throw system in a work session on December
91 2008 , and at previous work sessions; and
WHEREAS , staff has also met with representatives of local trash haulers to discuss staff s
work and the proposals and recommendations for changes to the City Code, and staff has worked
to incorporate changes to address the concerns raised by the haulers ; and
WHEREAS , based on staff s review and the input received from the City Council, staff has
prepared revisions to the pay-as-you-throw provisions and recommends that the Council adopt the
proposed amendments to the existing Code provisions, as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows :
Section 1 . That Section 12- 19 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
to read as follows :
Sec. 1249. Group accounts for collection.
(a) Any person who solicits solid waste collection services from a solid waste
collector for residential customers through a group account shall arrange for such
services in a manner that offers residential customers :
( 1 ) Choices from amongst volume capacity categories of the containers of solid
waste that are placed for collection by the residential customer;
(2) Charges to residential customers that are based upon such volume capacity
categories ; and
(3 ) Recycling services, including containers required to be provided for
recycling, in a manner consistent with § 15 -413 .
(b) Any person who is subject to the requirements of Subsection (a) above shall
provide written notice consistent with the notice required in § 15 -413 (d) of suc
volume-basedvolume capacity categories and to all residential customers
served through the group account. Said notice shall be given to all such residential
customers no more than thirty (30) days after suc niotice of volume capacity
categories, related rates and recycling services and container options have been
provided by a solid waste collector. In addition, written notices shall be sent to all
new residential customers who join the group account after the date of the original
notice . Said additional notices shall be given to each new member no more than ten
( 10) days after the new member joins the group account. A copy of the form of each
such notice, a list of recipients of the notice, and a record of the date and manner of
distribution shall be retained by the person providing the notice for a period of five
(5 ) years from the date each notice was provided, and shall be made available to the
City for inspection upon request during said period of time .
(c) No person who is subject to the provisions of Subsection (a) above shall in
any way discourage or provide disincentives to any current or prospective residential
customer served through a group account who wishes to select a volume capacity
category or level of recycling service that is different from that selected by other
residential customers served through such account.
(d) For the purposes of this Section, the terms contained herein shall have the
same meanings as in § 15 -411 .
Section 2 . That Section 15 -411 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
by the addition of a new definition "Poly-cart" which reads in its entirety as follows :
-2-
Poly-cart shall mean a durable, plastic , wheeled container with a hinged lid,
manufactured and used for the collection of recyclable materials or for the collection
of refuse .
Section 3 . That Section 15 -412 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins are hereby
amended to read as follows :
Sec. 15412. License requirement.
(a) License required. No person shall operate as a solid waste collector within the
corporate limits of the City without first obtaining a collection license for such activity.
(b) Exemptions. The following persons or entities are not required to obtain a solid
waste collection license :
( 1 ) A civic, community, benevolent or charitable nonprofit organization
that collects, transports and markets materials for resource recovery solely for
the purpose of raising funds for a charitable, civic or benevolent activity;
(2) A person who transports solid waste or recyclable materials produced
by such person;
(3) A property owner or agent thereof who transports solid waste or
recyclable materials left by a tenant upon such owner's property, so long as
such property owner does not provide solid waste collection service for
compensation for tenants on a regular or continuing basis ;
(4) A demolition or construction contractor or landscaper who produces
and transports solid waste in the course of such occupation, where the solid
waste produced is merely incidental to the particular demolition or
construction work being performed by such person.
(c) Volume-based rates. }
( 1 ) Any person licensed to operate as a solid waste collector within the City
shall charge all residential customers, including but not limited to residential
customers provided service through a group account, on the basis of the
volume capacity (or volume capacity category) of the containers of solid
waste placed for collection by each residential customer. The amount to be
charged for such containers shall be determined by each solid waste
025, 2064, and (2) donotoff-ei choice of mininebased service levels to Untiljnnttnr� 1 , 2086, the perfortnattee of legally binding arrangetnetits fbi the pm � ision (if solid waste eoHeeti aecottntsthat! ( ! ) were
shallbedectriednotto violate the terins Ofsection H-4f -2 for so longas and to tile extent thaethe existingeonhactual obligationspieclude the solid ma-
-3 -
collector; provided, however, that no volume capacity category shall exceed
a range of variation in volume capacity of more than - thirty-
two (32) gallons . Collectors shall determine a rate for the thirty-two (32)
gallon service, and that rate shall be used to determine the rates for all other
service levels . Said charges need no shall be based upon the container size,
rather than the volume of solid waste actually deposited within such
containers by the residential customers. The charge for additional containers
of the same volume capacity (or volume capacity category) shall not-be no
less than the charge for the first such container. The charge for prepaid bags
or labels or for solid waste volumes in excess of a customer service
subscription level shall be by volume capacity and shall be proportional by
volume to the collector' s standard rate for a thirty-two (32) gallon container.
(2) In order to further ensure that the charge for the collection of solid waste is
based upon volume as required above, any person licensed as a solid waste
collector shall provide to each residential customer disposable bags, or
labels to be attached to nondisposable containers, showing the volume
capacity (or volume capacity category) of such containers, or shall establish
another system for accomplishing the same purpose which is acceptable to
the City. A solid waste collector shall arrange for provision of service to
each group account in a manner that results in an individual selection by
each individual residential customer of a level of service from the full range
of container sizes and levels of service offered by the hauler.
(3 ) In offering or arranging for services, a solid waste collector shall provide
reasonable notice of the full range of bag or container sizes or levels of
service offered by the hauler, and shall provide to each residential customer
that customer's requested container size or level of service.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly attach any such label to a
container exceeding in volume the volume capacity (or volume capacity
category) shown on, or represented by, such label, and to place said
container for collection.
(5) No solid waste collector shall collect or transport solid waste which has not
been placed for collection through such system or in bags or containers upon
which such labels have been attached. Upon emptying any such containers,
the collector shall remove or otherwise void all such labels.
(6) The provisions of this Subsection shall not be construed as prohibiting any
collector from also establishing rules and regulations regarding the
maximum weight or loading of containers of solid waste and/or recyclable
materials .
(7) A collector shall not collect any overloaded container unless the collector
accounts for and bills the customer the appropriate fee or charge for the
-4-
collection of such excess solid waste . Loading of a container so as to
prevent the lid of the container from closing securely shall be deemed to
constitute overloading of the container for the purposes of this provision.
The determination of overloading and charges therefor shall be made on an
individual pick-up date basis, and there shall be no "averaging" of pick-up
volumes to allow for overloading at one time offset by a low volume at
another time .
(d) Fixed fees. In addition to the volume-based rates required
pursuant to Subsection (c) above, solid waste collectors may, but are not required to,
establish a flat monthl charge a fixed fee which may be charged to residential
tamers-only for solid waste collection services where bags or tags are used by
their customers rather than reusable containers for the purpose of covering the fixed
operational costs of routing service
trucks for such collections . Surcharges for fuel or other special surcharges or fees
shall be deemed to constitute a fixed fee and shall be permitted and charged only as
set forth in this Subsection.
If a solid waste collector elects to charge such flat montfrl fixed fee, said fee shall
not exceed thirty-five (35 ) percent of the monthly volume-based rate charged for one
thirty-two (32) gallon container per week. fifty (50) percent of the aggregated
Customer cost (the combination of the flat monthly f 2 e plus the monthly voltime rate
charged purstiant to Subsection (c) above , asstiming the collection of one [ f
containcr per weck) . Said flat monthly fcc shall be based vpon the following
fortrmla .
Where .
In the event that a solid waste collector elects to establish a flat month! fixed fee, all
bills for services provided by such collector to residential customers shall clearly
show both the flat month! fixed fee and the volume-based rate. Additionafly, in the
evctit that a solid waste collector clects to cstablish a flat monthly fee, such collector
shall, within ten ( H) calendar days after establishing stich f�e and on or before
jantiary 1 of each enstfing year, deliver to the eity, s Natural Resources DIICUNJI ZI
true and correct copy of such sofid waste collector's rate scheduf c, including bnt no
Section 4 . That Section 15 -413 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
to read as follows :
Sec. 15-413 . Recycling requirement.
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(a) Curbside%n-site collection.
( 1 ) Each solid waste collector licensed by the City shall make available to its
multi-family and commercial customers, and other customers receiving solid
waste collection services through a communal system of waste collection,
at the customer's option, curbside collection of recyclable materials as said
materials are designated from time to time by the City Manager as provided
in § 15 -414 of this Article . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the collection of
recyclable materials from customers pursuant to this Subsection shall not be
required if the collector drterminesprovides documentation satisfactory to
the City verifying that there is not sufficient space available to allow the
placement of recycling containers without encroaching on needed parking
areas or on the sidewalk or street, or without impairing or impeding bicycle,
pedestrian or vehicular traffic .
(2) Each solid waste collector licensed by the City shall provide to each
residential customer in the City, as a part of any solid waste collection
services provided by such solid waste collector, the collection at curbside
of both solid waste and recyclable materials, as said materials are designated
from time to time by the City Manager as provided in § 15 -414 of this
Article . No such collector shall be permitted to divide or diminish the
provision of said basic service at the request of such customer or for any
other reason.
(b) Collection of recyclable materials; rights and duties of collectors. All
licensed collectors of recyclable materials and solid waste operating within the City
shall have the following duties and rights :
( 1 ) Except for materials which customers have not properly prepared for
recycling, collectors may not commingle designated recycle materials with
refuse, nor dispose of recyclable materials set out by recycling customers by
any means other than at a qualified recycling facility. Recyclable materials
shall include all those materials designated by the City Manager as materials
which collectors must offer to collect for recycling.
(2) Household recycling containers for storing and setting out recyclabl�
materials must be made available by collectors to all solid waste customers
who utilize curbside recycling scivian within the On or before
January 1 , 2010, collectors must provide to each solid waste customer who
utilizes curbside recycling services within the City a poly-cart container for
storing and setting out recyclable materials meeting the requirements of this
Subsection, clearly marked as a recyclables container with words or symbols
or both. Collectors must offer in writing annually to each residential
recycling customer a choice of poly-cart containers for recycling in sizes
ranging from no smaller than sixty-four (64) gallons to at least ninety-six
(96) gallons in capacity, and must provide the requested poly-cart without
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additional charge to such customer, except that the collector may require the
payment of a refundable damage or loss deposit or a charge for lost or
damaged poly-carts, not to exceed the actual cost of the container. The
collector must provide a poly-cart for recycling to all residential recycling
customers except those customers who expressly decline a poly-cart, and
must provide a poly-cart to any customer at any time upon request within
one ( 1 ) billing period after the request is made .
(3 ) The collector may establish such reasonable and industry-accepted
requirements for the preparation of materials for recycling as are necessary
to provide for the orderly collection of recyclable materials, including
requirements regarding the preparation of materials for collection, the
collection of recyclable materials and requirements for source separation.
(a4) In the event that a collector elects to perform collection of solid waste or
recyclable materials through subcontractors or agents, such agency
relationship shall not relieve the collector of responsibility for compliance
with the provisions of this Code and the rules promulgated hereunder.
(45 ) All recyclable materials placed for collection shall be owned by and be the
responsibility of the customer until the materials are collected by the
collector. The material then shall become the property and the responsibility
of the collector. No person other than the customer or the collector of
recyclable materials shall take physical possession of any recyclable
materials placed for collection.
(6) Any vehicle used for the collection of recyclables must be clearly and
unambiguously marked as a recycling truck, whether by permanent decals
or markings, or by signage or placards displayed at all times during such
use .
(c) Frequency of collection .
( 1 ) All collectors providing solid waste collection services to residential
customers shall provide curbside recycling collection services to all Such
customers who desire such services . Recycling collection services shall
include collection from poly-cart recycling containers for all customers
except those who expressly opt to forego receipt of a poly-cart. Such
curbside recycling collection services shall be provided on at least a once-
weekly basis and on the same day of the week as the day of collection of
solid waste from the customer; provided, however, that collection of
recyclable materials need not be accomplished on the same day as the
collection of solid waste for multi-family dwelling units and dwelling units
located within mobile home parks . After January 1 , 2010, or after a
collector has offered and made available to its customers poly-cart recycling
containers, whichever first occurs, said collector may modify its recycling
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collection schedule as long as curbside recycling collection services are
provided on the same day of the week as the day of collection of solid waste
from the customer and no less frequently than two (2) times per month.
(2) Collectors providing collection services to multi-family and/or commercial
customers shall provide services for the collection of recyclable materials
from such customers who desire such services with such frequency as is
necessary to prevent overflow of the recycling containers.
(d) Customer notification.
( 1 ) Upon the initial provision of solid waste collection services to new
customers, and on or before December 31 of each year with respect to
existing customers , collectors shall notify in writing such customers of the
availability of the collection of recyclable materials, the range of poly-cart
recycling containers available, the materials designated for recycling
collection pursuant to § 15 -414 and such rules and regulations as have been
established by the collector for the orderly collection of recyclable materials
as authorized pursuant to Paragraph 15 -413 (b)(2) . Such notice shall further
include notification of the variable rate system employe solid waste
collection service options offered by the solid waste collectorand the
related volume-based rates and fixed charges .
(2) The form of notice shall be in a f6rin rcasonably acceptable to the
C�ysubmitted to the City for review for consistency with the requirements
of this Article, and to ensure that the notice is sufficient to fully inform
customers are fully informed of the availability of recycling and level of
service options .
(3 ) For group accounts, the notices required hereunder may be sent to the group
representative for said account, provided that such notice shall further notify
said representative of its obligation to notify all individual residential
customers within the group of the availability of recycling services and the
terms of variable rate service options, pursuant to Subsection 12- 19(b) .
(4) All verbal and written communications with customers by or on behalf of
a collector, whether in person, by telephone, in written form or through any
other means, must be consistent with and clearly and accurately describe all
components of the system employed by the collector to provide and charge
for variable rate solid waste collection and recycling services .
(5) The collector shall deliver to the City's Natural Resources Director a true
and correct copy of each form of such notification sent on or before
December 31 of each year.
(e) Recycling only of electronic equipment.
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( 1 ) No collector shall collect for disposal any electronic equipment, regardless
of whether such electronic equipment has been placed or set out for
disposal.
(2) Collection of electronic equipment for recycling shall be at each collector's
option; provided, however, that no collector providing collection services
for electronic equipment may dispose of any such electronic equipment.
Instead, each such collector must deliver any collected electronic equipment
for recycling at a qualified recycling facility for electronic equipment.
Section 5 . That Section 15 -415 ofthe Code ofthe City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
to read as follows :
Sec. 15-415. Application for license.
(a) Any person desiring to obtain a license to engage in the business of solid
waste collection shall make written application to the Financial Officer on forms
provided by the City. All applications for renewal of a license by a licensed collector
must be submitted no later than November 30 in advance of the new license year.
The application shall include, without limitation, the following information:
( 1 ) The name and address of the applicant;
(2) The principal place of business for the business to be conducted;
(3 ) A list of vehicles owned and/or operated by the applicant directly in the
collection of solid waste and/or recyclables, or operated or located at any
time in Fort Collins during the current or pending license year, including
vehicle make, color, year, U. S . Department of Transportation safety
inspection identification number, cubic yard capacity, Colorado license plate
number and empty tare weight.
(4) A description of the system to be used to account for and charge volume-
based rates, as required under Subsection 15 -412(c), and a plan describing
the structure and operation of the recycling collection services to be offered
to each customer class. The description of the system shall include a
detailed description of the means by which residential customers are notified
of and offered the full range of sizes of bags or containers provided for solid
waste collection and those provided for curbside recycling. In addition, the
description shall provide sufficient detail to allow the Financial Officer to
determine the means by which volume-based rates are applied to residential
customers receiving waste-hauling services through any group account, such
as the formula used to set volume-based rates for any group accounts, and
the methods used to offer and account for the volume-based charges .
(5 ) All information required pursuant to § 15 -418 (a) for the preceding twelve
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( 12) month period.
(b) The Financial Officer shall determine whether an application meets the
requirements of this Article, and whether all taxes , fees, penalties, interest or other
financial obligations to the City of the applicant or any predecessor in interest of the
applicant have been met, and whether the applicant is in current compliance with the
requirements of this Article . The Financial Officer may request such additional
information as he or she deems relevant to a determination of whether the
requirements of this Article will be met by the applicant. The Financial Officer may
deny any application if the Financial Officer reasonably determines that any
requirements of this Article will not be met by the operation proposed by the
applicant, or if the applicant is ineligible for a license under the terms of a revocation
determination by the City Manager pursuant to § 15 -426 .
(c) Upon a determination by the Financial Officer of whether a license shall
issue under this Section, the Financial Officer shall give written notice to the
applicant of his or her decision thereon. An applicant whose application has been
denied may, within twenty (20) days after such decision is mailed, petition the City
Manager for a hearing on the denial. The City Manager shall notify the applicant in
writing of the time and place of the hearing. After such hearing, the City Manager
shall make such order in the matter as he or she deems just and proper and shall
furnish a copy of such final order to the applicant.
Section 6 . That Section 15 -416 of the Code ofthe City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
to read as follows :
Sec. 15-416. License requirements ; fees and insurance.
Upon approval of a license application, but prior to issuance, the collector shall
furnish to the Financial Officer the following :
( 1 ) A license fee in the sum of one-hundred dollars ($ 1001)
for each vehicle to be used in the business for the purpose of the collectiot
of solid waste or recyclable required to be identified under § 15 -
415 (a) ; and
(2) Proof that the collector has obtained a general comprehensive
liability/automobile insurance policy protecting the collector from all claims
for damage to property or for bodily injury, including death, which may
arise from operations under or in connection with this license and providing
limits of coverage of not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000 .)
for bodily injury and property damage per occurrence or in the aggregate;
and
(3 ) Proof that each vehicle required to be identified under § 15 -415 (a) has been
registered with the U. S . Department of Transportation.
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Section 7 . That Section 15 -418 ofthe Code ofthe City of Fort Collins is hereby amended
to read as follows :
Sec. 15418. Plans, recordkeeping and reports.
(a) Each collector must accurately and completely account for and record, and
report to the City using a form provided by the City, the following :
( 1 ) the specific manner in which trash collection and recycling services have
been delivered in compliance with this Article, including, but not limited to,
a complete list of all rate schedules used to charge for such services,
including those offered to individual customers and those offered to group
accounts, as well as the frequency of collection of trash collection and
recycling services ;
(2) a description of any system used to impose and verify charges for trash
volumes in excess of customer subscription levels ;
(3) the number of individual residential, multi-family and commercial
customers who received solid waste collection services from the collector,
by category, together with the number of group accounts within each
category and the number of any such customer category that received
services through a group account; and
(4) the number of customers within each category that subscribe to each level
of solid waste and recycling services, as well as the number of customers
that utilize pre-paid bag or tag services , and the number of recycling poly-
carts provided to customers, by size of poly-cart.
(ab) In addition, prior to implementation of Aany change to operational systems,
plans or structures of any licensee which are snioject to eity review mid approval
pursuant to this Article shall be required to be reported for issuance of a
license or annually hereunder, the collector must submit such changes to the City for
reviewFLJLvl to triplementationof such change.
(c) All information submitted to the City pursuant to this Section shall constitute
public information, except as otherwise provided in the Colorado Open Records Act.
Any such information constituting confidential customer records or financial
proprietary information and identified as such by the licensee shall be maintained as
confidential by the City, unless otherwise required by court order or as agreed by the
relevant party-in-interest. If the City receives a request for public inspection or a
request for release of any collector customer records or collector financial
information to a third party, the City shall provide timely notice of such request to
the licensee .
(bd) Each collector licensed pursuant to this Article shall maintain accurate and
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complete records of the service provided to each residential customer, the charges
to such customer and payments received, the form and recipients of any notice
required pursuant to this Article, and any underlying records, including any books,
accounts, contracts for services, written records of individual level of service
requests, invoices, route sheets or other records necessary to verify the accuracy and
completeness of such records . It shall be the duty of each collector to keep and
preserve all such documents and records, including any electronic information, for
a period of three (3 ) years from the end of the calendar year of such records, except
for paper records of route sheets, which may be discarded one ( 1 ) year after the end
of the calendar year of such route sheets .
(ee) Promptly upon a request by the City Manager in connection with an audit
or other investigation he or she has initiated, a licensee shall make records retained
pursuant to Subsection 15 -418(b) available, at its place of business or in such other
reasonably convenient location as the licensee shall specify, for review by the City
Manager, the Financial Officer or his or her designee, or an officer of the City
charged with the investigation of potential violations of the Code, for the purpose of
enforcing the requirements of this Article. Any such information consti"ing
confidential customer records or financiaf proprietary inf6rination and identified as
such by the ficensce shall be maintained as confidential by the eity, tMiess Otherwise
required by court order or as agreed by the relevant party-in-interest, if the eit
s a equest for public inspection or a request for release of any of saij
inf6rmation to a third party, the eity shaif provide timely notice of such request to
the ficensce
(df) A licensee shall make available for review by the City such records in its
possession as may be relevant to the investigation of any complaint regarding such
licensee that has been submitted to the City or is under investigation by the City.
(eg) All collectors shall accurately and completely report to the City the
following information, which shall be deemed to constitute public information:
( 1 ) Number of tons or etrbie yar of solid waste collected in Fort Collins from
all residential, multi-family and commercial customers, and any other
customer category, reported by category of customer. The weight of solid
waste collected shall be documented and verified based on actual load
weight measurements of a representative solid waste load no less frequently
than on a calendar quarter basis, using a scale certified by the State of
Colorado, which actual weight information shall also be described and
reported.
(2) Number of tons of each type (as determined by the City Manager pursuant
to § 15 -414) of recyclables collected through the commercial and multi-
family recyclables collection program.
(3 ) Number of tons of each type (as determined by the City Manager pursuant
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to § 15 -414) of household recyclables collected through the curbside
recyclables collection program.
(4) Number of tons of each type (as determined by the City Manager pursuant
to § 15 -414) of household recyclables collected by drop-off system. Such
reports shall be made on forms to be provided by the City and shall be made
biannuaHy-for each full half-year of curbside collection performed by the
collector. A half-year shall mean January 1 through June 30 or July 1
through December 31 . All such reports shall be submitted to the City
Manager no later than thirty (30) days following the close of each half-year.
Section 8 . That the amendments to Section 15 -412(c)( 1 ) and (d) shall be effective as of
July 1 , 2009 .
Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 5th day of
May, A.D . 2009, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of May, A. D . 2009 .
Mayor
ATTEST :
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading this 19th day of May, A.D . 2009 .
Mayor
ATTEST :
City Clerk
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RESOLUTION 2009-046
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP A PILOT TRASH
SERVICE DISTRICT WITHIN A PORTION OF THE CITY
WHEREAS, in 2008, the City Council directed City staff to conduct a trash services study
to examine ways in which the City can reduce the impacts of trash collection services in Fort Collins,
including street wear,air quality,neighborhood aesthetics, noise, and other neighborhood impacts,
and to identify ways that the City might also improve diversion rates for recyclables; and
WHEREAS,the City Council has a specific goal of reducing the impact of numerous heavy
trash vehicles on City streets; and
WHEREAS, trash trucks are the single heaviest vehicles per axle that regularly use
residential streets in the community; and
WHEREAS,three residential trash haulers currently provide service within the community,
resulting in up to three trash trucks and three recycling trucks using residential streets each week,
causing increased street wear, air pollution, noise and other neighborhood impacts; and
WHEREAS, at its December 9, 2008, work session,the City Council evaluated a variety of
alternatives for addressing these issues, including proposing a trash services pilot district for a
portion of the community; and
WHEREAS, limiting the number of trash trucks in a specific area through creating a pilot
districted trash system using the competitively-bid,contracted services of one hauler would address
these issues; and
WHEREAS, such a pilot district would be established in order to evaluate the effectiveness
of the districted model in Fort Collins; and
WHEREAS, an additional purpose of implementing a trash services pilot district would be
to evaluate whether a city-contract system would allow more direct opportunities to increase waste
diversion and recycling efforts by trash services customers in the District; and
WHEREAS,such a pilot district would be of sufficient size and duration to create a realistic
model of the effectiveness of such a program for the entire community, should Council choose to
pursue such a city-wide districted model in the future; and
WHEREAS, the community would benefit from the reduced fuel usage and reduced
greenhouse gas emissions that result from fewer trash trucks being driven in the pilot district; and
WHEREAS, a pilot district would help the City meet its goal of diverting 50% of the
community's waste stream from landfill disposal by 2010.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council desires to determine the effectiveness of a trash services
district within the City of Fort Collins by developing a pilot trash district for a portion of the
community.
Section 2. That the City Council hereby directs the City Manager to develop a detailed
proposal and contractual arrangements for a trash services pilot district to be implemented upon
approval by the City Council of the fee to be charged and the required procurement contract, if
longer in term than five years.
Section 3. That the City Manager is hereby directed to evaluate and establish a trash
services pilot district that will:
a. be of sufficient size,duration and scope to provide a clear test of the policy's
effectiveness in achieving the City Council's goals for limiting the impact of
trash vehicles on the community;
b. offer new opportunities to meet the additional goal of increasing the
community's recycling rates; and
C. allow trash haulers to submit competitive bids for the opportunity to provide service
within the designated pilot area and otherwise comply with the statutory requirements
for initiating municipal trash services.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 5th
day of May A.D. 2009.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk