HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/10/2022 - Memorandum From Caroline Mitchell Re: Council Priority Update - Enhanced Recycling EducationEnvironmental Services
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6600
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MEMORANDUM
Date: May 4, 2022
To: Mayor Arndt and City Councilmembers
Thru: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Lindsay Ex, Environmental Services Director
From: Caroline Mitchell, Program Manager, Waste Reduction and Recycling
Re: Council Priority Update – Enhanced Recycling Education
Bottom line: The purpose of this memo is to provide Council with a progress update for the Enhanced
Recycling Education Council Priority. As noted in the Council dashboard, staff is primarily enhancing
recycling education via a Barriers to Recycling Assessment (key findings below) and is identifying
opportunities for consistency and alignment in all activities (see Other Recycling Education Enhancement
Opportunities section below).
Barriers to Recycling Overview
Waste Reduction and Recycling staff conducted the Barriers to Recycling Assessment, which identified
recommendations to increase access to and participation in recycling, reusing, and reducing. This project
advances Council’s priority to Enhance Recycling Education and was identified as a strategy through Our
Climate Future, supporting Big Move 2 – Zero Waste Neighborhoods.
The assessment’s key recommendations for expanding education and awareness include the following:
Fund community partners to co-create and deploy culturally-relevant recycling education and
outreach content to increase community ownership and relevance.
Expand Recycling Ambassador volunteer program to increase program diversity and increase
program reach.
Leverage visual storytelling and communication, including at the Timberline Recycling Center
(TRC).
Update signage at the TRC and on recycling bins throughout the community, including adding
Spanish.
Use language that acknowledges different actions work for different people (and different
abilities), such as that people with disabilities may require disposable straws but support recycling
and reuse in other ways.
Highlight stories of recycling leadership across the diverse cultures and groups in Fort Collins to
demonstrate that many people care about this issue, e.g., zero waste systems were identified as
a top priority for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the Our Climate Future process).
Partner with institutions such as Colorado State University to align recycling guidelines between
campus and student housing throughout Fort Collins (note, CSU recently updated their guidelines
to more closely align with regional guidelines).
2
Other Recycling Education Enhancement Opportunities
The Waste Reduction and Recycling team also identified the following opportunities to support consistent
education and recycling bin signage:
Community Recycling Ordinance (CRO) Enforcement: During the CRO compliance sweep, staff
identified multi-family and commercial bins with outdated or missing signage. Staff will develop a
plan with haulers to update the signage on these bins.
Contracting: If Council moves forward with a contract for single-family trash and recycling service
and City-owned bins associated with the contract, all new bins will include current recycling
guidelines. A contracted system also supports consistent recycling education throughout all the
community.
Extended Producer Responsibility: Staff is supporting Colorado state bill HB22-1355, which would
ensure recycling education and access statewide.
Ongoing education: Staff continues to send regionally-aligned recycling guidelines to residents at
least once per year in City Utility bills as well as once per year through haulers.
Next steps:
This Council term: The following items are included in the 2022 workplan. Staff will report back to
Council on initial progress in Q1 2023:
o Extended Producer Responsibility Support, contracting development, CRO compliance
sweep, ongoing education, highlight stories of recycling leadership, and use language
inclusive of people with disabilities.
Work in 2023-2024:
o Incorporate, as feasible, recommendations in the development and implementation of the
Sustainable Timberline Recycling Center Plan, anticipated to be completed in 2023
Leverage visual storytelling and update TRC signage
o Reflect recommendations in budget offers for 2023/24 budget cycle, e.g., expand
volunteer program and fund community partners, and in the updated Our Climate Future
2023/2024 Tactical Plan (Our Climate Future Work Session scheduled for October 11,
2022).
o Partner with haulers to ensure consistent bin signage for multi-family and commercial
bins.
Attachments:
Barriers to Recycling – Project Summary and Recommendations
Regionally-consistent recycling guidelines distributed broadly across the community multiple
times per year
–
Summary
During the Our Climate Future planning process community
members of historically underserved groups identified barriers to
recycling, reusing, and reducing as a key concern in Fort Collins.
In response to these concerns, the Waste Reduction and
Recycling team launched a series of activities to learn more about
such barriers. City staff held three styles of engagement; a
number of in-depth interviews to better understand perception
of reusing, reducing and recycling practices in Fort Collins; invited
individuals to participate in a learning journey of the Timberline
Recycling Center; and conducted a community-wide survey.
Through these activities, City staff identified key
recommendations that will be implemented in the outreach,
operations, and policy of the Waste Reduction Program to
improve recycling education across the city.
Engagement
Who we engaged:
Community members that are disproportionately impacted by
environmental factors and whose influence in the community
hasn’t been historically recognized. Such groups include, Latinx
families, university students, individuals with disabilities, and
members without secure housing.
How we engaged:
Our team intentionally curated a series of conversations and
activities to engage community members willing to share their
thoughts on challenges to recycling, reusing, and reducing in their
day-to-day lives in Fort Collins. We offered three types of
engagement opportunities: a one-hour conversational interview,
a two-hour learning journey at the Timberline Recycling Center,
and a five-minute online questionnaire.
To the community members that participated in this project, we
extend our greatest gratitude for your partnership, voice, and
friendship. We learned together, we identified key concerns, and
thanks to your support we are committed to improving the City
of Fort Collins’ outreach and engagement process in the path to
zero waste. Thank you for all you do every day to make our
community a more inclusive place to live.
Expanding recycling education and awareness
Fund community partners (organizations) to
co-create and deploy culturally relevant
recycling education and awareness content
Expand the Recycling Ambassador program
to increase diversity within the program and
increase the reach of the program
Partner with institutions such as Colorado
State University to align on recycling
guidelines between campus and student
housing throughout Fort Collins.
Deepen practices that leverage visual
storytelling and communication wherever
possible, including at the Timberline
Recycling Center
Update signage at the Timberline Recycling
Center and on waste infrastructure across
the community
Use language that acknowledges different
actions work for different people (and
different abilities)
Highlight stories of recycling leadership
across the diverse cultures and groups in
Fort Collins to disrupt problematic narratives
of who “cares” enough to recycle, reuse, or
reduce
Policy-focused
Explore rebate options for low-income
households to dispose of hard-to-recycle
materials at the Timberline Recycling Center
Conduct robust engagement with historically
underrepresented community groups as part
of developing any new waste ordinances
Operations
Consider accessibility in any updates to the
Timberline Recycling Center (e.g., language,
ability, age, etc.)
Explore the ability of the main entrance
signage at the Timberline Recycling Center
to welcome community members to the site.
Explore pick-up options or neighborhood
scale collection events to alleviate
transportation burdens
Themes from Historically Underrepresented Groups
Accessibility (language, physical and intellectual/developmental ability, mobility, etc.) improvements on community waste
infrastructure (Timberline Recycling Center (TRC), multi-family dumpsters, curbside carts, etc.) would support greater use
for several groups in the community.
Transportation options limit people’s ability to dispose of hard-to-recycle materials.
Outreach integration opportunities and cross-collaboration with Colorado State University around recycling best practices.
There’s a perceived confusion between what can be recycled on campus and the rest of the city.
Community members expressed appreciation of educational resources at the Timberline Recycling Center. They desire
resources and learning opportunities that can distributed to their community. Many had positive remarks about the site but
had limited knowledge of the recycling center or even recycling guidance.
During the Timberline Recycling Center learning journeys, community members expressed concern about the entry fees to
dispose of certain electronics and hard to recycle materials. This conversation revealed that not only is it a financial barrier
to dispose of the materials but also a hinders quality of life because potentially hazardous materials are left accumulated in
homes.
More accountability to businesses in the community vs. consumers to offer reusable items in restaurants and coffee shops.
Many community members are passionate about zero waste and are leading in space. Many are concerned about the
environmental impacts and would like more access to educational resources to share with their community in support of
zero-waste efforts.
Themes from the broader Fort Collins community
There is confusion about what items can go in single-stream recycling bins or dumpster, what items can be recycled only by
dropping them off at a specific location, and what should go in the trash.
Many community members don’t trust that items are being recycled.
Affordability and access to transportation are barriers to using the Timberline Recycling Center or other drop-off locations
for bulky or hard to recycle items.
Repairing items is either too challenging to do or too costly to have done by a professional.
It’s a challenge to remember to bring reusable items like cups, cutlery, and straws when going out into the community.
Affordability and access to transportation are barriers to using the Timberline Recycling Center or other drop-off locations
for bulky or hard to recycle items.
Some things are too low quality, ill-designed, unhygienic or unsafe to reuse.
Concern for personal safety deters some from purchasing used items when it requires meeting a stranger in person.
aps,
1. City staff recognized that we need to allow more time in the project timeline for relationship building and to foster new
connections with community members from underserved groups.
2. Continue identifying better ways to involve and empower underserved community members. Community members already
care and are leading in this space and their stories need to be highlighted.
3. While our recycling educational materials are robust, it was evident that a good portion of the community does not have
access to tools like the A-Z Tool, Fort Sort, or the recycling guidelines.
4. Going to community members is essential. In other words, City staff received more transparent and truthful communication
when we met community members outside of traditional City centers. It’s important to continue being aware of power-
dynamics and create more opportunities for City staff to reach community members vs. the traditional approach of
community members reaching out to City Staff.
steps
Build near-term recommendations into work plans for 2022 and 2023.
Look for City and grant funding to address medium and long-term recommendations.
Continue building partnerships in the community to refine recommendations and identify opportunities for community co-
creation.
Share progress reports with project participants and community leaders.
OSG-144520