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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 03/05/2013 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 023, 2013, AMENDINDATE: March 5, 2013 STAFF: Susie Gordon AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 31 SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 023, 2013, Amending the City Code to Prohibit the Disposal of Cardboard in the Community's Waste Stream and to Amend Requirements for Recycling Applicable Solid Waste Collection. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on February 12, 2013 by a vote of 5-2 (nays: Kottwitz, Troxell), will prohibit placing corrugated cardboard boxes/packaging in trash containers for disposal in landfills by any type of waste generator in Fort Collins, including commercial, industrial, and residential customers. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Staff has prepared an Implementation Plan (Attachment 2), which lays out details and a schedule for applying new restrictions to the disposal of cardboard in the waste stream. Elements include: education/outreach activities; a notification system to warn residents and businesses when cardboard-in-the-trash incidents occur; and, description of situations likely to result in enforcement activities, who will be held accountable, and how enforcement will be administered by the City. Staff followed up with local trash/recycling companies to evaluate how much money an ordinance restricting disposal of cardboard in the waste stream will cost them. Companies that offer services in Fort Collins vary in size and corporate structure and responses varied widely. Up to $10,000 could potentially be spent by each company over the next couple years to educate customers about cardboard restrictions and recycling options. To provide more dumpsters and carts to customers for cardboard recycling, as much as $250,000 and as little as $20,000 may be spent on new equipment. Each company cited a 3-year return on investment period. A concern to some companies is the roll-out period for providing new containers to customers, since it may take 2-3 months for manufacturers to fill orders (addressed in the Implementation Plan as a timing consideration). Council requested a broader definition for ways that cardboard can be diverted from landfill disposal, in addition to conventional recycling processes. Information is included in the Implementation Plan about alternative ways to manage waste cardboard, and staff is working on getting a “cardboard box exchange” established on the City’s website that will be publicized as part of the education and outreach program. A suggestion was to modify the ordinance for when groups of customers need to come into compliance, granting more time for multi-family complexes. However, it will be easier to bring all customers into the program from the outset, in terms of informing the public about the new restrictions. As described in the Implementation Plan, entities will be given individualized attention and options for coming up to speed on a collection program that works best and addresses their unique concerns. For instance, if employees hide cardboard under the trash instead of recycling it, a business owner may elect to invite City staff to provide training for workers. For multi-family complexes or businesses, if non- authorized dumping results in cardboard in the trash, City staff can help managers identify perpetrators (leaving address labels on delivery boxes is a surprisingly common oversight made by illegal dumpers) and will help by sending a warning letter explaining that City Code treats “theft of service” as a punishable offence in Fort Collins. Finally, for all situations, good signage is an extremely important tool for eliciting the best recycling practices; staff will work closely in providing customized signage for a variety of business and multifamily locations that clearly communicates the “do’s and don’ts” of the Ordinance, and why cardboard in the waste stream is prohibited throughout the community. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. March 5, 2013 -2- ITEM 31 ATTACHMENTS 1. Copy of First Reading Agenda Item Summary - February 12, 2013 (w/o attachments) 2. Implementation and Enforcement Plan for Applying Restrictions on the Disposal of Cardboard in the Waste Stream 3. Public comments on cardboard disposal restrictions from outreach conducted October - November 2012 4. PowerPoint presentation COPY COPY COPY COPY ATTACHMENT 1 DATE: February 12, 2013 STAFF: Susie Gordon AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 3 SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 023, 2013, Amending the City Code to Prohibit the Disposal of Cardboard in the Community's Waste Stream and to Amend Requirements for Recycling Applicable Solid Waste Collection. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance will prohibit placing corrugated cardboard boxes/packaging in trash containers for disposal in landfills by any type of waste generator in Fort Collins, including commercial, industrial, and residential customers. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The proposal to restrict cardboard from being placed in the waste stream originated as a strategy in 2005 to increase the Fort Collins community’s ability to meet our goal of diverting 50% of trash from landfill disposal, as well as to help meet goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over time, as waste diversion rates in Fort Collins have risen, so has public interest in recovering even more materials of value that continue to be discarded, and the idea of taking a regulatory approach continued to be discussed. The City’s 2008 Climate Action Plan included the regulation of cardboard disposal as an implementation strategy that will reduce trash by an estimated 12,000 tons/year, which represents 9% of the waste stream that Fort Collins sends for landfill disposal. These 12,000 new tons of recycling per year will also eliminate the emission of 42,000 short tons/year of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), a greenhouse gas, based on the emissions factor for cardboard recycling used in US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waste Reduction Model (WARM). This ordinance is estimated to quadruple the amount of cardboard (currently 4,200 tons/year) captured through the community’s recycling efforts. Two main issues drive the discussion towards cardboard restrictions. First is the long and active history of education, outreach, and incentive programs already conducted by the City to increase recycling. For twenty years, local efforts have been abundant and varied, from publicity campaigns and advertising, requirements for trash hauling companies to offer curbside recycling, to a City-sponsored drop-off facility and community recognition for businesses that integrate recycling as part of their Climate Wise membership. With only about 25% of the cardboard in the community currently being recycled, arriving at a decision to place a ban on cardboard in the waste stream is a logical “next step” for local government to realize community goals and values. The second issue is the relative magnitude of cardboard in the waste stream. Despite being a highly recyclable commodity, many trash dumpsters around town are routinely full of cardboard boxes and packaging. Landfill managers concur, stating they observe that cardboard seems to continue to stream into local landfills. Waste characterizations conducted by Larimer County every 5-10 years measure cardboard and other discarded paper at 35% of the Larimer County landfill’s contents. Among all the recyclables that are collected in the City’s programs, cardboard is perhaps the most easily recognized. It doesn’t require lengthy explanations about “chasing arrow” code numbers to identify cardboard, and it is also one of the most ubiquitous discards that are generated by nearly every type of business, or residence. Local Building Code Green Amendments that became effective in 2012 now require cardboard recycling at building sites; awareness and successful implementation by the Fort Collins construction industry has grown steadily. Disposal of cardboard is banned by nine states, a number of communities and counties in the U.S., as well as Washington D.C. Fort Collins has had the experience of enacting a local disposal restriction, with a ban on electronic waste that was adopted in 2006. COPY COPY COPY COPY February 12, 2013 -2- ITEM 3 FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS From an economic standpoint, restrictions on cardboard disposal will add more state and local revenue from the sales of cardboard for recycling and by creating more jobs in the collection/processing industry. Burying discarded cardboard in landfills, on the other hand, permanently squanders a resource that is valued at $50/ton or more in today’s commodity markets. Diverting more discarded material into the recycling system avoids filling up local landfills unnecessarily, including the Larimer County Landfill, which is partly owned by the City. Lengthening the life of Larimer County Landfill is a prudent financial approach that will save taxpayers, at minimum, an estimated $35 million in construction costs for a new landfill in the future. Costs to implement a cardboard disposal ban are not anticipated to be excessively burdensome. No-cost recycling opportunities exist that allow both residents and businesses to recycle. Due to Fort Collins’ Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) Ordinance, residential customers do not pay extra for curbside recycling – which includes cardboard – because the cost for recycling services is required to be bundled into the costs for trash service. Residents and businesses alike utilize free public drop-off recycling centers operated by the County (co-located at the Larimer County Landfill), and the City of Fort Collins (1702 Riverside; open seven days a week during daylight hours). Additionally, many entities already subscribe to recycling services. Any customer, residential or commercial, who already receives recycling services that is described as “single stream” collection will be unaffected by new trash restrictions because the single-stream recycling program in Fort Collins includes cardboard. For commercial types of customers that generate large amounts of cardboard, such as grocery stores and “big box” retailers, it has been standard practice for the past 15-20 years to subscribe to cardboard recycling services. Often these generators use compacting units to save on costs, or even bale their cardboard themselves for delivery to buyers in Denver. The PAYT Ordinance, however, does not apply to commercial or multi-family (MFU) accounts. While haulers are obliged to provide recycling to these customers whenever it is requested, they are allowed to charge a fee for the service. Prices vary among haulers and among types of clients; often the price is considered proprietary information. City staff estimates it costs $15-30 per month to pay a hauler for cardboard recycling at a small or mid-sized business. By separating cardboard from the trash dumpster or bin, however, customers may be able to reduce the size and/or collection frequency of their trash dumpsters and therefore can offset recycling costs through lower trash bills. Compliance with a new ordinance is the responsibility of the generator of the materials. However, hauling companies will also be required to take initiative in meeting the intent of the Code by declining to remove trash from customers when a trash container/bin is found to be more than 25% full of cardboard by volume. The City will rely on service providers to inform customers about the ordinance and urge them to sign up for recycling services offered by the hauler. Haulers’ employees are not expected to remove cardboard materials from trash containers, as a matter of safety; this is a specific concern expressed to the City, in light of ever-rising insurance costs for the trash industry. Enforcement will be carried out on a complaint basis or when City employees observe cardboard in a generator’s waste stream. With an emphasis placed on warnings and education about the importance of recycling cardboard during the first 12 months, enforcement will occur gradually, and only in the face of egregious or repeat offenses. Costs that will accrue to the City as a result of establishing cardboard disposal restrictions largely fall into the enforcement category; Code Enforcement staff will be trained to take appropriate enforcement actions by writing either a warning ticket or citation for violation of the Code. However, no additional Code Enforcement staff hiring will be necessary. Environmental Services staff will expand outreach to businesses and MFUs through the City’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Program (WRAP). Assistance will be available for new-to-recycling companies and MFUs in developing their recycling capabilities. Analyses of MFU recycling programs were recently completed by staff showing that among Fort Collins’ mid-to-large sized apartment complexes, 72% already provide recycling services to their tenants. This leaves about 20 of the larger multi-family complexes that do not yet have recycling, which will be a priority group for staff in conducting outreach activities. Staff will also actively work with those customers for whom physical barriers - space constraints, too-small trash enclosures, and tight alley access – make it especially challenging to initiate cardboard recycling. COPY COPY COPY COPY February 12, 2013 -3- ITEM 3 Costs for expanded outreach services will be absorbed in WRAP’s existing program budget for 2013-14. After conducting assessments for specific customers, staff will help prepare tailored on-site plans, offer training for business’ employees, and potentially locating funds to expedite the transition to recycling. For instance, if tenants at a cluster of businesses are willing to collaborate, a good choice might be to lease compacting equipment that makes it easier to store cardboard for collection/recycling. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS An ordinance that prohibits disposal of cardboard in the community’s waste stream will reduce the amount of trash that is sent to landfills from Fort Collins. An initial result, therefore, will be an extension to the life spans of several landfills in the area. Of particular interest is the stewardship of the Larimer County Landfill, jointly owned by the City of Fort Collins (50% of the original site of the Larimer County Landfill, located on the north half of Section 9, T6N, R69W on South Taft Hill Road), Larimer County (25%), and the City of Loveland (25%). Postponing the need to replace the aging landfill is an important consideration for regional taxpayers, who, in the future may be faced with a decision whether to allocate money (minimum $35 million in today’s dollars) to construct new facilities for waste disposal. As the cardboard ordinance becomes fully realized, an estimated 12,000 tons/year of cardboard will be diverted from the trash and into the recycling stream. This diverted material will reduce the amount of trash generated in Fort Collins by 9% (from 130,000 tons, down to 118,000 tons per year). Fort Collins’ waste diversion will therefore rise by an estimated 6%, accelerating our progress toward meeting the adopted goal of 50% diversion. Additionally, using formulae provided by the US EPA for modeling greenhouse gases that are avoided through recycling activities, the cardboard ordinance will have the ultimate effect of preventing 42,000 short tons/year of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) from being emitted to the atmosphere. By taking this action, Fort Collins will also accelerate progress at meeting the community’s goals for greenhouse gas reductions. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Support for cardboard restrictions was voted on by the Natural Resources Advisory Board, and by the Air Quality Advisory Board at their respective meetings in November, 2012. PUBLIC OUTREACH During fall of 2012, meetings were held with members of the trash/recycling hauling industry, Chamber of Commerce members and staff, and a variety of City staff to discuss the implications of new restrictions on cardboard disposal. Newspaper articles and columns, television bulletins, and spotlights on City webpages and utility bill inserts were published, and a public Open House was conducted on November 8, 2012, to introduce the proposal to the community. Comments from citizens and from specially affected interests were reported during a work session with the City Council on November 27. A roundtable meeting was recently held in January that was attended by a cross-section of 15 members of Fort Collins’ business community, including small-to-medium-sized businesses, property management companies, the Downtown Development Authority, and managers of multi-family housing. A summary of comments and questions raised by this “focus group” is provided in Attachment 3. ATTACHMENTS 1. Work Session Summary, November 27, 2012 2. Roundtable meeting with members of the Fort Collins business community, January 16, 2013 COPY COPY COPY COPY February 12, 2013 -4- ITEM 3 3. Air Quality Advisory Board minutes, November 19, 2012 4. Natural Resources Advisory Board minutes, November 27, 2012 5. Powerpoint presentation IMPLEMENTATION & ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE PLAN for THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RESTRICTIONS ON THE DISPOSAL OF CARDBOARD IN THE COMMUNITY’S WASTE STREAM FEBRUARY 2013 Attachment 2 pg. 2 PURPOSE To identify the schedule for implementation of an ordinance restricting cardboard from disposal in the waste stream, and to outline the City’s implementation procedures, including plans for extensive education and outreach, as well as responsibilities for identifying, tracking, and responding to concerns related to incidents of non-compliance, and establish a process to penalize noncompliant violators and deter future noncompliance. I. DEFINITION Recyclable cardboard shall mean corrugated cardboard, and shall include, but not be limited to, materials used in packaging or storage containers that consist of three or more layers of Kraft paper material, at least one of which is rippled or corrugated. Cardboard shall be considered recyclable cardboard regardless of whether it has glue, staples or tape affixed, but not if it is permanently attached to other packing material or a non-paper liner, waxed cardboard, or cardboard contaminated with oil, paint, blood, or other organic material. The City endorses the U.S. Environmental Agency’s integrated “hierarchy” of waste management to help protect environmental resources. Therefore, the City ordinance requiring cardboard to be separated out of the waste stream is intended to redirect cardboard resources away from landfills, toward alternatives including but not limited to: 1. Recycling: whereby cardboard is collected, processed (i.e., baled or compacted), and delivered to commercial mills to be remanufactured into new products such as boxes. 2. Re-use: whereby cardboard is returned to the consumer and put back into use as storage containers, packaging materials, or boxes for shipment/transport. 3. Re-purposing: whereby a new secondary use may be found for cardboard, for instance as insulating material. 4. Composting/mulching applications: whereby cardboard is employed as one of the organic ingredients for making compost, or used in landscaping applications as a weed suppressant layer that also helps trap moisture in the soil. II. APPLICATION Fort Collins residents and commercial entities are affected by the ordinance restricting the disposal of cardboard in trash containers that are collected by commercial hauling companies. A threshold level of 25% of the contents of a trash dumpster, bin, or cart will be treated as the maximum amount of cardboard that is allowed to be placed in containers for trash collection. A trash hauler that empties and removes the contents of a container holding more than 25% cardboard will also be out of compliance with the City ordinance. Note: Businesses that participate in construction of new buildings are included in Ordinance 023-2013. Previously adopted requirements in Fort Collins’ Building Code for this industry sector already require cardboard to be recycled; therefore, inspection and pg. 3 enforcement for cardboard disposal activities on construction sites will continue to be conducted by the Building Services Department, independent of Ordinance 023-2013. III. EFFECTIVE DATE An ordinance restricting cardboard from disposal in the waste stream, as adopted by Council on March 5, 2013, becomes effective March 15, 2013. IV. EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND NOTIFICATION Public Participation The City’s primary approach to diverting more cardboard from the community’s waste stream is to obtain voluntary cooperation and participation from all sectors of the community to practice the “three R’s” of resource management.  Reduction of cardboard usage when possible. Customers may, for instance, request that purchased products be delivered in durable, returnable boxes instead of cardboard.  Re-use of cardboard as a product that may allow new packaging, shipping, and storage opportunities, or may be converted to a new secondary use such as organic mulch.  Recycling of cardboard using conventional systems to collect “OCC” (industry’s code, which stands for old corrugated containers), to be sent to commercial mills to be remanufactured into new cardboard for making packaging and boxes, etc. To increase involvement from all members of the community, staff in the City’s Environmental Services Department will focus on communicating the importance of diverting cardboard from landfill disposal. Public outreach and engagement tools will be designed to be positive, user-“friendly” and supportive. Primary tasks include: 1. providing clear, informative guidelines on how to successfully engage in cardboard reduction/reuse/recycling activities; 2. re-enforcing information to households about using the single-stream recycling program (which includes cardboard) that is available through curbside collection services; 3. generating new communication tools for both multifamily housing and commercial entities to use about how to implement successful recycling programs that help divert cardboard from the waste stream; and 4. offering financial incentives and support for business and multifamily managers who encounter site-specific issues that constrain cardboard recycling activities. Warnings When observations are made by City staff, or when complaints are received from members of the public that trash receptacles at any place of business, multifamily complexes (residential group/subscriber), or resident/subscriber housing (e.g., single- family) contain more than 25% cardboard by volume, a warning note may be placed by City staff at the site as a communication tool that provides “friendly” notification and reminder of the City’s requirement to keep cardboard out of the trash. A copy of the warning note will be filed by address in a database maintained by the City for future reference. After two notifications have been issued, City staff will: pg. 4 1. (Environmental Services) attempt to directly contact the entity that is generating the material (responsible party, or RP) to have a more direct discussion and ascertain the RP’s reasons for not recycling cardboard, and/or; 2. (Code Compliance) prepare a violation notice (see Section V). Schedule of Implementation: An active, vigorous education and notification campaign starts upon adoption of Ordinance 023-2013 and continues for 12 months at a high level of staffing and resource allocation by the City. The initial year of the outreach campaign will be followed by ongoing education/information about the City’s cardboard disposal restrictions into the future. V. VIOLATIONS Action/Response Concerning Incidents of Violation When a violation notice is received by, or prepared by, the Fort Collins Neighborhood Services Code Compliance staff, an incident report form will be filled out after field verification has been conducted. Guidelines and procedures that will be followed are outlined, independently of Ordinance 023-2013, in Fort Collins’ Code Compliance Policy Manual. A notice of violation will be sent to the RP from Code Compliance staff that describes the reported incident and provides the RP with opportunity to resolve issues of noncompliance within a 15-day period. The letter will provide contact information for both Code Compliance staff and Environmental Services and include the provision that the RP may contact the City if/when the RP wishes to submit an appeal for the incident of violation. The City’s notice of violation will be sent to both: 1. Owner(s) of the property, and; 2. Inhabitant(s) of the property. After an incident of violation and issuance of a notice of violation, if/when the RP contacts staff in the Environmental Services Department for assistance in developing a new program for diverting cardboard from the waste stream, the Code Compliance officer may choose to indicate that compliance is being reached and provide additional time to correct the violation. If the RP takes no action, insufficient action or untimely action to remediate the violation, Code Compliance staff may provide a written Notice of Violation to the responsible party in the form of a letter or may seek additional enforcement action as described below. A written Notice of Violation will contain, at a minimum, details of the violation and the required end result of remediation by the responsible party. The Notice may also discuss increased enforcement actions that may be taken as well as possible fines and other penalties that may be imposed if the violation continues or is repeated. Notices of Violation will be sent as required by this Plan. The purpose of the notice will be to reiterate information given to the RP during the investigation and establish a record of the City’s response. pg. 5 Referral to City Attorney’s Office- Where the facts and circumstances of a violation warrant it, the Code Compliance staff will consult with the City Attorney’s Office for further evaluation regarding whether additional enforcement action may be taken. Generally, where appropriate, legal action will be initiated and pursued to the extent allowed by applicable law. The City of Fort Collins Municipal Court has created a municipal schedule of fines that identifies five hundred dollars ($500) as the amount of fine that will be imposed for a first-time violation of Ordinance 023-2013. Schedule of Implementation The City ordinance provides opportunity for a Notice of Violation to be written at any time following March 15, 2013. Attachment 3 1 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 Summary of Public Comments – Increasing Cardboard Recycling “Survey Gizmo” – Public Input Absolutely require that cardboard is recycled and banned from the waste cycle/landfill. All cardboard should be recycled. I cannot attend the meeting but am in favor of increasing cardboard recycling. I would like to see our city recycle cardboard, NOT dump it in the landfill. Makes sense to me !! Let’s make it a no-brainer for everyone. And make reuse in gardens easy too Please prohibit the landfill disposal of cardboard! There's no reason not to recycle it. Please require recycling cardboard. Sounds good to me. Are the trash haulers on board? Hope so. This seems like a simple step in Fort Collins' efforts to be a green city. Yes please recycle cardboard. Prohibiting corrugated cardboard in the landfill is a fine idea overdue. By diverting it, you can sell it and make the town some money, reduce the waste in the land fill and reduce methane in the environment. It's a no brainer! Make cardboard recycling required. Enough of the regulations and government bureaucracy! If the city really wants to divert recyclables from the land fill then all trash and recyclables should be single streamed and separated at the land fill. Not only could you get more recyclables you could also get compostable materials etc. Not to mention the energy savings of having one trash pick-up per residence etc. Just think of the carbon reduction! Look at the plan Loveland has in place for their recycling. They have a smooth running, easy to use recycling center on South Wilson. The only one I know of in FC is off of Riverside and in comparison it's a joke. Business is all about using successful models that are already in place and working, look at Loveland's and I'd love to see something akin to that in FC. Absolutely cardboard should be recycled and banned from the landfill. The elimination of methane, a greenhouse gas, is a high priority. The profits from recycling will help offset collection costs. The concept of recycling will be furthered. Thank you. Keep up the good work! I absolutely agree with banning cardboard from trash. It make sense economically and environmentally, and it's very easy to recycle. Because everyone has recycling available to them, there is no reason not to require the recycling of cardboard. I STRONGLY support the requirement of recycling cardboard, from residences and beyond, and I also support banning it from the landfill, ESPECIALLY if landlords of multi-family apartment complexes are contacted! I live in one of these complexes and am continually perplexed and frustrated as to why I don't receive curbside recycling like my neighbors!!!! I take my recycling to the Recycling Center every week but I know a lot of people who don't, who would utilize curbside recycling if they had it in their apartment complex!! YES YES YES. What are we waiting for? Reduce trash, including cardboard, through support for better or non-existent packaging, recycling, banning, etc., by whatever means necessary. I recycle cardboard most of the time, but I hate cutting it into 24" x 24" pieces. That can be dangerous esp. if you have children around when you are cutting it. Why not just flatten it? Then put in the recycle bin. Some boxes are so big I say the heck with it and put it in the garbage bin. We also recycle by lining Attachment 3 2 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 the bottom of our garden with the cardboard to prevent grasses and weeds from coming through. That is only once every 1 to 2 years. Fort Collins and all other government offices need to keep their hands out of our lives; we can do just fine without all these rules and laws. I definitely favor increasing the pressure to re-cycle cardboard. It is relatively easy to break down a small box but very large boxes are difficult to cut up. Large boxes that have been made into flat pieces should be permitted in recycling without requiring that they be cut into smaller pieces. Education is key including recycling locations if you live in an apartment complex. Because more and more people are renting and living in apartment complexes, there is a strong need to work out ways for all types of recycling to be done at apartment complexes. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the need to improve the rate of cardboard recycling in Ft. Collins. Our view is that mandatory recycling of cardboard is an important step in reducing carbon emissions and diverting a valuable resource from the landfill. The landfill is within 20 yrs. of capacity, thus, we would encourage consideration of mandatory recycling for as many recyclables as possible. I think recycling card board is a really good idea. In fact, I recycle or repurpose any cardboard I get. Why shouldn't everyone do the same? I am shocked to hear they are not! Tsk, tsk Fort Collins should keep cardboard out of the landfill! Long-Term it will save money and the environment! Yes, please do more to increase cardboard recycling. When I worked at a restaurant years ago, it was actually profitable to recycle cardboard and we had a separate bin for it. I think a system working with the lumber yards would help with construction cardboard. When a lumber yard makes a delivery, their truck goes back empty. Maybe cardboard collection containers could be located at lumber yards for City pick-up? Lumber trucks could pick-up from job sites, and delivered to the containers. The City could pick up from there. Yes, the City Council should adopt regs to prohibit (or at least really limit) the disposal of cardboard in the landfill. It is really not that hard, as I recycle all of my cardboard at home, and while my office doesn't generate much, it would be helpful if the office were required to do so, as it would result in the entire building where I work would as well be required to do so. There are other offices in the building where my office is located that generates a lot of cardboard and I see too much of it being thrown in the trash and not recycled. Thanks. the more we can do to encourage recycling of everything the better. curbside recycling ought to be free (or at least significantly cheaper than trash hauling), and be funded by city via taxpayer dollars. Trash- hauling fees ought to be increased. we need more yardwaste collection / composting sites...every neighborhood needs one or two As a concerned citizen, I support adopting regulations to prohibit placing corrugated cardboard boxes/packaging in trash containers for disposal in landfills, including commercial, industrial, and residential generators. This sounds like another silly idea which is not well thought out and is of little benefit to anyone or anything. Trendy? yes. Value? No. Just how are folks supposed to dispose of cardboard received in packages etc. Will the city do it for a fee? I am originally from new jersey and find it astonishing that we as a city continue to allow recyclable resources to enter the landfill. We need to show greater foresight and require all recyclables be recycled This is a huge concern. It is alarming that in a time when some cities have implemented regulations no only against recycling cardboard but also against disposing of compostables that this would be a discussion. The fact is that our environment can't afford any more waste than we already create. Not recycling cardboard or any recyclable item is choosing to destroy the world for everyone who inhabits it. These types of selfish acts cannot be prohibited and need to be changed. If implementing regulations Attachment 3 3 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 requiring that people recycle cardboard is going to the only way to ensure that it happens than we have no other choice. My feedback is to require that cardboard be recycled. It makes good sense. Thank you for all you do, I am in complete support of a ban on putting cardboard in the landfill. Cardboard is clean and easy to break down. Sometimes people and businesses just need the financial or legal incentive to do the right thing. This is the type of problem you have in a wealthy community where residents don't need money from returned cardboard, nor care about paying a fee for plastic bags. The City needs to put a LOT more pressure on trash collection companies who pick up anything, right or wrong. Our trash man picks up our can, dumps it in the back of the truck, and looks it over to see if there are improper items. If there are, the items are returned to the can or sidewalk. If any trash collection company dumps improper material at a dump, charge them a very hefty fee. It's past time to get tough. This seems obvious, something I thought was already happening in Fort Collins. Many people recycle everything they can in their own households. I would like to see the city do the same. I support the effort to recycle cardboard within the city of Fort Collins. It is incredibly important for our community to understand the functionality of cardboard. It is not difficult to recycle, and helps immensely. More education regarding the functionality could be implemented through a PR campaign to raise awareness. We recycle cardboard at Riverside. We do have recycling pickup, but I wonder whether cardboard becomes contaminated with moisture and then is not recyclable. As a Fort Collins citizen for 20 years, I am writing to encourage the landfill to prohibit cardboard. Cardboard should be recycled. In fact, as a young girl growing up in Japan, recycling was a mandatory stewardship requirement of citizens in dealing with trash and with our environment. That was 50 years ago!! Let's continue to become a city of inspiration and just doing what's right for the earth. The impact of removing cardboard from the landfill will significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions for Fort Collins. This action is one of the most efficient ways to not only reduce gases responsible for climate change but will also lower the amount of solid waste that is placed into the landfill annually. I am pleased that the city is recommending cardboard recycling specifically for retailers and 'big box stores' who are the greatest contributors to cardboard waste and the greenhouse gases that are released by their decomposition. Additionally, I would like to thank the city for its efforts to make recycling centers that take cardboard accessible to the public and hope they continue to do so. I fully support the City of Fort Collins banning the disposal of cardboard in trash cans bound for the landfill. Thank you! I strongly support a ban of cardboard in our landfills. I would suggest we look at the best practices from other states that have banned cardboard and create our policy based which best practices would be best for Fort Collins. Why pay to put cardboard in the landfill when we can get others to pay us for the cardboard? Do the math! Including the savings in energy and trees. How would you regulate cardboard trash? How would you know who is throwing cardboard away vs recycling? What would the consequences be? Would you expect trash company to refuse trash if cardboard is mixed in? Yes. The city should do anything necessary to keep cardboard out of the landfill, including increasing tipping fees. I support requiring all residents and businesses in Ft. Collins to recycle cardboard. If we were to get all Attachment 3 4 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 cardboard out of the waste stream and into the landfill, we'd reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2%. This is an important step in continuing our forward progress in meeting the City's Climate Plan goals. Attachment 3 5 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 Written Comments on Increasing Cardboard Recycling Open House November 8, 2012 Poster 1 – “Your input is welcome” 1. The people want freedom and government off our backs!!! We don’t want to be another “Boulder”. We want the use of plastic bags and cardboard boxes to continue. Don’t pass these laws against us. Leave us alone! This whole thing is part of “Agenda 21” from the United Nations. They pay cities money and perks to force us into “Agenda 21”. Poster 2 – “Two Recycling Initiatives – draft proposals from staff” 1. Does anyone know what happens to cardboard that goes into recycling? Really? Why not say so? 2. Where does the recycled cardboard go to? To China? 3. Cardboard recycle centers would have a huge impact. 4. I support! (cardboard initiative) 5. I already am recycling all cardboard – easy and smart and right thing to do. 6. It would be prudent for us as citizens to keep cardboard out of trash. Rather than “oppression”, I see it as civic responsibility. 7. Cardboard: education NOT oppression! Don’t we have enough rules and regulations? 8. Yes, prohibit (cardboard) from trash stream. 9. Not hard to sort out cardboard. No brainer. I support. 10. Prohibit (cardboard) from being placed in trash and soon! 11. How hard is it to put cardboard into your recycle bin? I support enforcing cardboard recycling! 12. Prohibit penalty for cardboard scavenging Poster 3 – “Reducing Waste: Cardboard Recycling Initiative (In Fort Collins, about 12,000 tons of cardboard are thrown away each year)” 1. We need to move toward banning cardboard from the waste stream by requiring that it be recycled. It’s a valuable resource and results in significant greenhouse gas emissions when made from virgin materials and when it decomposes in the landfill. 2. We must look at the impact of cardboard, as well as all “waste”, on the capacity of the landfill. With less than 20 years of life remaining, we need to reduce all “wastes”! Mandating the recycling of cardboard would be significant help to extending the landfill for the non-recyclables. 3. Let’s quit putting cardboard in the landfill. It has value. We should ban it and do an education campaign as well as phase it in. Let’s work with the haulers to come up with creative ways to capture that cardboard from multi-family homes and businesses. Cardboard should not be going in the landfill. 4. How will this increase the cost of doing business in Fort Collins? Poster 4 – Reducing Waste: Cardboard Recycling Initiative (City ordinance) 1. Let’s ban (from landfill disposal) plastic bottles, tin cans, newspapers and all else from the recycle bins then the landfill will last longer and our trash fees will go down. Instead let’s place recycling bins in more places around the community where it is presorted and can be sold for a net profit. 2. Yes, not in trash by either resident or commercial. Proceed with short period of education. Thank you for proposing this. Attachment 3 6 Increasing Cardboard Recycling Council Worksession November 27, 2012 3. I think the cardboard idea will be difficult to enforce and will cause conflict between the City and small business. The better approach would be an information and education program co- sponsored by the trash haulers on the reasons to move cardboard out of the waste stream into the recycle bins. You might also offer “cash for cardboard” to citizens/ businesses that can bring in significant amounts. This model is already in place at Larimer County and could be expanded to include new potential City site for difficult to recycle items, possible at hauler locations, etc. The haulers could re-coup their costs for educational efforts through extra containers and pickup fees for customers that are interested in getting on board. Finally, if the haulers could put out offer to customers explaining the benefits of cardboard recycling and be willing to perhaps reduce a customer’s six-yard container to two 3-yard containers, they would have the same pickup but could have two pickups (at a slightly higher cost) and have the benefit of clean cardboard they could settle without the expense of single stream recycling. 4. City ordinance best way to handle cardboard along with good education and gradual transition to increasing enforcement. 5. If cardboard is so valuable why do commercial (customers) have to pay to take it away? I’m for recycling but we do NOT need another law. 6. Why does it have to be a law? Maybe we just see it as a responsibility, not a law. 7. I like that this also applies to commercial generators. What would the penalty be for non- compliance? How would the trash haulers deal with this? 8. What if the cardboard is dirty (food, plastic, etc. on it)? 9. Good idea – very valuable resource to be just trashing. People need education and incentive. 10. All clean cardboard needs to be recycled. 11. Six months education – good. Ban in trash all residential and commercial. Good poster overall. 12. Consider leaning through impact fees toward manufacturers producing hard-to-recycle products and packaging. 1 1 City Council Regular Meeting March 5, 2013 Susie Gordon, Sr. Environmental Planner Second Reading for an Ordinance to Restrict Disposal of Cardboard in the Waste Stream 2 On February 12, 2013, Council approved on first reading an ordinance Prohibiting Cardboard from Being Placed in the Trash as a strategy to divert more discarded material from being sent to landfills for disposal ATTACHMENT 4 2 3 As recommended in the City’s 2008 Climate Action Plan, regulations to restrict cardboard in the trash would: • reduce greenhouse gas emissions • increase the life of the landfill • help meet our waste diversion goals 4 Implementation and Enforcement • Plan lays out steps and roles for City departments • Active, vigorous education and assistance campaign for first 12 months • Staff “oops” warnings when trash contains cardboard 3 5 Implementation & Enforcement, cont. • After 2 warnings: • Environmental Services staff may contact/assist generator, and/or • Code Compliance may issue Notice of Violation (15 days to resolve) • Building Services staff will only enforce code recycling requirement at construction sites 6 Response to Council Comments • Companies’ investments for more recycling bins may range between $20,000 to $250,000 with a 3-5 year return on investment • Trash companies will get support from City to educate customers about the ordinance • Staff will promote waste diversion alternatives in addition to recycling such as: • Re-use for original storage, shipping purposes • Repurposing as landscaping weed barrier, composting, insulation, etc. 4 7 QUESTIONS? ORDINANCE NO. 023, 2013 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO PROHIBIT THE DISPOSAL OF CARDBOARD IN THE COMMUNITY'S WASTE STREAM AND TO AMEND REQUIREMENTS FOR RECYCLING APPLICABLE SOLID WASTE COLLECTION WHEREAS, in 1964, the City first enacted licensure requirements for solid waste collection services with the adoption of Ordinance No. 42, 1964, which 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 1985, the City first began to investigate programs to educate the public about recycling and solid waste reduction; and WHEREAS, in December 1999, the City Council adopted Resolution 1999-139, which set goals for diverting 35% of the community’s waste stream from landfill diversion by 2004, and 50% of the waste stream by 2010; and WHEREAS, in 2005, the City Council directed staff to develop comprehensive plans for reaching waste diversion goals, during which the City calculated that 12,000 tons/year of cardboard were entering local landfills from Fort Collins as part of the waste stream; and WHEREAS, the disposal of 12,000 tons/year of cardboard material from Fort Collins’ waste stream contributes an estimated 42,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, a damaging greenhouse gas, to the earth’s atmosphere; and WHEREAS, the City’s 2008 Climate Action Plan sets a goal of reducing Fort Collins’ greenhouse gas emissions by 20% below 2005 levels by 2020, and 80% below 2005 levels by 2050; and WHEREAS, the monetary value of 12,000 tons/year of cardboard that is sent to landfills for disposal from the Fort Collins community is currently $600,000 in commodity markets; and WHEREAS, the number of jobs in the recycling industry that it takes to process cardboard is calculated to be ten times as great as the number of jobs that it takes to bury cardboard in landfills, so that recycling results in economic benefit and greater revenue for communities, including Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, in addition to lost commodity rebates and fewer jobs, the landfill disposal of 12,000 tons/year of cardboard costs $216,000 in current landfill gate fees; and WHEREAS, the disposal of 12,000 tons/ year of cardboard in landfills that could otherwise be recycled reduces the lifespan of local landfills, including the Larimer County landfill; and WHEREAS, the ownership of the Larimer County landfill is shared by the City; and WHEREAS, the need to build a new landfill to serve the community’s future needs will create significant new costs for taxpayers; and WHEREAS, residential customers of trash hauling companies who live in single-family homes or in multi-family complexes of fewer than eight units are able to receive curbside cardboard recycling services at no additional cost on their trash bills; and WHEREAS, all businesses and residential generators of waste cardboard may take cardboard to be recycled at no cost at the City’s recycling drop-off facility; and WHEREAS, in addition to the licensure provisions for solid waste haulers in Chapter 15 of the City Code, Article II of Chapter 12 of the City Code also addresses generally the collection and disposal of solid waste, currently referred to in those provisions as “garbage and refuse”; and WHEREAS, in light of the foregoing, the City Council has considered the proposed amendments to Chapter 12 and Chapter 15 described below, and has determined that the amendments will promote the policy objectives and public purposes described above. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the foregoing recitals are hereby incorporated herein as findings of the City Council. Section 2. That Section 12-16 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new definition “Recyclable cardboard” which reads in its entirety as follows: Recyclable cardboard shall mean corrugated cardboard, and shall include, but not be limited to, materials used in packaging or storage containers that consist of three or more layers of Kraft paper material, at least one of which is rippled or corrugated. Cardboard shall be considered recyclable cardboard regardless of whether it has glue, staples or tape affixed, but not if it is permanently attached to other packing material or a non-paper liner, waxed cardboard, or cardboard contaminated with oil, paint, blood or other organic material. Section 2. That Section 12-22 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 12-22. Required Recycling. (a) No person shall place electronic equipment in refuse containers for collection, nor shall any person bury or otherwise dispose of electronic equipment in or on private or public property within the City. All electronic equipment must either be -2- stored and presented or delivered to a licensed solid waste collector for recycling in accordance with the provisions of Subsection 15-413(e), or delivered directly to a qualified recycling facility for electronic equipment. (b) No person shall place recyclable cardboard in refuse containers for collection, nor shall any person bury or otherwise dispose of recyclable cardboard in or on private or public property within the City. All recyclable cardboard must either be stored and presented or delivered to a licensed solid waste collector for recycling in accordance with the provisions of Subsection 15-413(e), or delivered directly to a qualified recycling facility appropriate for recyclable cardboard. (c) It shall be the duty of any owner or occupant of any premises to ensure that bags or containers do not contain materials required to be recycled under this Section when such bags or containers are offered for solid waste collection. Section 3. That Section 12-26 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by to read as follows: Sec. 12-26. Violations and penalties. Any person who violates § 12-18 of this Article, or who violates § 12-22(b), or § 12- 22(c) as it relates to § 12-22(b), commits a civil infraction and is subject to the penalty provisions of Subsection 1-15(f). Any person who violates any other provision of this Article also commits a misdemeanor. All such misdemeanor violations are subject to a fine or imprisonment in accordance with § 1-15. Section 4. That Section 15-411 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new definition “Recyclable cardboard” which reads in its entirety as follows: Recyclable cardboard shall mean corrugated cardboard, and shall include, but not be limited to, materials used in packaging or storage containers that consist of three or more layers of Kraft paper material, at least one of which is rippled or corrugated. Cardboard shall be considered recyclable cardboard regardless of whether it has glue, staples or tape affixed, but not if it is permanently attached to other packing material or a non-paper liner, waxed cardboard, or cardboard contaminated with oil, paint, blood or other organic material. Section 5. That Section 15-412 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to add a new subsection (e), to read as follows: (e) Refusal of recyclable materials. In the event that a collector refuses to collect any bag or container because it contains materials required to be recycled under Section 12-22, the collector shall not be required under this Section to credit the customer for such refused bag or container. A collector shall not collect materials required to be recycled under Section 12-22, except that, with respect to recyclable -3- cardboard, a collector may, but shall not be obligated to, accept any bag or container that has reasonably been determined, based upon visual inspection, to contain no more than twenty-five (25) percent recyclable cardboard by volume. Section 6. That Section 15-413 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the deletion of subparagraph (e) as follows: Sec. 15-413. Recycling requirement. . . . Section 7. That Section 15-414 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 15-414. Designation of recyclable materials. (a) The City Manager shall, on or before the 30th day of November of each year, after consultation with the Larimer County Board of Commissioners, the Natural Resources Advisory Board and representatives of the licensed solid waste collectors operating within the City, determine which items shall be designated for recycling collection based upon the following criteria: (1) Local, state and federal laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the requirements of this Article; (2) Potential for waste stream reduction; (3) Availability of markets; (4) Market price; (5) Safety factors and risks of transportation; and (6) Risks of commingling of liquid wastes. (b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, collection for recycling of electronic equipment 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, but instead shall deliver any collected electronic equipment for recycling at a qualified recycling facility for electronic equipment. c) All collectors shall be responsible for notifying their customers of the items identified to be recycled. -4- (d) The City Manager is authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the implementation and enforcement of this Article. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 12th day of February, A.D. 2013, and to be presented for final passage on the 5th day of March, A.D. 2013. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 5th day of March, A.D. 2013. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk -5-