REPORT Meeting Date: February 7,2013 Waste Management Committee

Transcription

1 REPORT Meeting Date: February 7,2013 Waste Management Committee For Information DATE: REPORT TITLE: FROM: Dan Labrecque, Commissioner of Public Works OBJECTIVE To provide an update on the bi-weekly garbage collection pilot project. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS On November 24, 201 1, Regional Council approved a year-long bi-weekly garbage collection pilot as set out in the report of the Commissioner of Public Works, dated October 24, 2011 titled "lmplications of Implementing a Bi-weekly Garbage Collection Pilot" (Resolution ). There are four bi-weekly garbage collection pilot areas in Peel: four bag limit; three bag limit; urban cart based collection; and, rural cart based collection. The one year bi-weekly pilot was introduced in two phases; bag-based pilot areas launched at the end of February 2012 and cart-based pilot areas launched at the beginning of April The expected outcomes of bi-weekly collection are increased diversion, reduced collection costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The use of carts is expected to also reduce worker injuries. Preliminary data shows increased diversion in all four pilot areas, particularly green bin diversion. Residents in the Brampton and Caledon cart-based programs raised concerns related to weather (i.e. snow) but no snow related calls were received during the recent snowy weather. Residents raised concerns over the loss of exemption periods so staff added the exemption periods back in for the week of December 31, January 5, 2013 to lessen the impact of bi-weekly collection during the Christmas holidays. Notwithstanding the above concerns, residents in the pilot areas are actively participating with good results. The final report is expected to be presented to Regional Council in June The current level of service provided to the cart-based collection programs in Brampton Ward 9 and Caledon Ward I will continue until Council can make an informed decision on bi-weekly garbage collection and the preferred method (carts vs. bags).

2 5a -2- DISCUSSION 1. Background On November 24, 2011, Regional Council approved the Waste Management Committee Recommendation WM , and passed Resolution approving that a year long bi-weekly garbage collection pilot be implemented in the Region of Peel as set out below: Four bag garbage limit every other week with weekly recycling and organics collection; and that exemption periods for garbage be eliminated (referred to hereafter as 'Four Bag pilot'); Three bag garbage limit every other week with weekly recycling and organics collection; exemption periods for garbage is reduced to one week (from two) due to every other week garbage collection (referred to hereafter as 'Three Bag pilot'); 360L cart collection for garbage and recycling in an urban (Brampton) setting with alternating every other week garbage and recycling collection and weekly organics collection; exemption periods for garbage eliminated (referred to hereafter as 'Brampton CarVHybrid pilot'); 240L garbage cart and 360L recycling cart in a rural (Caledon) setting with alternating every other week garbage and recycling collection and weekly organics collection; exemption periods for garbage is reduced to one week (from two) due to every other week garbage collection (referred to hereafter as 'Caledon Cart pilot'). On September 6, 2012, Waste Management Committee was presented with an update on the progress of the bi-weekly collection pilot, and the following suggestions were made to staff: Focus on the net environmental gains as the Region of Peel might not realize cost savings from bi-weekly garbage collection; Monitor the green bin diversion and participation in the winter months; Include testimonials from participating residents in the communications strategy (iflwhen a bi-weekly program is implemented). On September 27, 2012, Regional Council approved the Waste Management Committee meeting minutes WMC for the update on the bi-weekly collection pilot. 2. Pilot Objectives Implementing a bi-weekly garbage collection pilot allows staff to obtain first hand feedback in order for Council to decide on a full scale bi-weekly collection program tailored to the needs of Peel residents. The main objectives of the pilot are as follows: Increase diversionlresource recovery; Reduce collection costs; Reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and, Reduce worker injuries (cart based areas). This pilot also allows staff to identify potential barriers to participation (e.g. diapers, organics sorting, etc.) and provides real-world empirical data to assist in the development of a plan to address concerns if the program is implemented Region-wide.

3 5a-3- FINDINGS 1. Resident Survey In July 2012 and again in November 2012, participants of the bi-weekly collection pilot were given the opportunity to provide their feedback on their specific pilot program through a survey. The same questions were asked in both July and November in order to gauge residents' level of acceptance of the program as it progressed. The data for the second survey was very preliminary at the time this report was being written, however, additional information will be provided in the verbal presentation accompanying this report, including a comparison of the two surveys and a brief analysis on the results. 2. Diapers and Pet Waste Drop-off Pass for the CRC As the program was being launched, a number of residents contacted staff with concerns about holding onto disposable diapers for more than a week. Residents with this concern were made aware of a number of alternatives to disposable diapers such as using cloth diapers or using a cloth diaper service. Alternatively, residents were informed that disposable diapers could be taken to their local Community Recycling Centre (CRC). Residents that indicated they were interested in taking dedicated loads of diapers to the CRC for disposal were given a CRC pass to drop off this material off for free. A number of residents also indicated that holding onto pet waste for more than a week was going to be problematic. To mitigate the potential odour issues, these residents were also offered a CRC pass. To date staff has issued 14 CRC passes; as follows: The CRC pass has been utilized seven times by two residents; this usage indicates that the CRC cards have been utilized less than 1 % of the available opportunities. Based on the number of cards issued and the current usage, implementing a CRC pass to drop off problematic material such as diapers and pet waste for free at the CRCs would be an effective way to address this issue. If implemented, based on our pilot data, the Region could expect to distribute less than 1,000 cards Region-wide; of which we would expect that less than 10 residents would utilize the service. This solution would have very little impact on the CRCs. This program was not advertised in our communications to residents; it was offered to residents at the Region's Open Houses and to residents that called in and identified these items as barriers to participation.

4 UPDATE ON BI-WEEKLY GARBAGE COLLECTION PILOT P ROJE~ Collection Service In addition to the CRC pass to drop off problematic materials, staff has offered a collection service on the off weeks of collection for residents that are unable to utilize the CRC pass. To date a total of six residents required collection; currently there are three continuing to utilize this service. The remaining three residents no longer receive the service because: One moved out of the pilot area, however, in speaking with her, she was willing to forgo collection in the cooler months; One only required the service during the summer months when odour was an issue; and, One resident started using the garbage cart (from the Brampton Hybrid area), and this eliminated the requirement for off week collection. The three residents currently utilizing this service have health issues, or are looking after elderlyldisabled family members and the CRC pass is not an option. In order to gauge the effect that a CRC pass may have, staff looked at the existing program for medical exemptions (residents who are not able to meet the two bag standard due to excessive medical waste are given 52 tags per year and can use them at their discretion) and surmised that in conjunction with residents concerned about diapers and pet waste that these residents would also be more likely than most to require off week collections. Currently we have 169 residents that receive bag tags to manage garbage above the two-bag standard on a weekly basis. Over the last few years this program has become more common as home healthcare service has increased, and as such we are evaluating the impacts that a special collection service would have. Once Regional staff have determined the growth of this program over the last few years, staff will be able to determine what impact (if any) this program may have on the CRCs, collection staff and costs if and/or when bi-weekly collection is rolled out Region-wide with the Region's new collection contract expected to start in If bi-weekly garbage collection were to be implemented Region-wide, a program would be required to accommodate residents with special needs. This program would be administered in a manner similar to the program being implemented for residents requiring exemption due to medical circumstances. 3. Exemption Periods In addition to testing bi-weekly garbage collection, staff also eliminated the two-week exemption periods offered three times per year for garbage collection in the Mississauga Four Bag Limit area and the Brampton CarVHybrid collection areas. By eliminating the exemption periods in these pilot areas, staff are able to analyze a resident's ability to cope with waste generated without access to the curbside exemption periods. On an operational level, eliminating exemption periods allows the collection contractor to have a set number of vehicles in their fleet instead of having fleet in reserve for peak volumes of waste. This potentially allows the contractor to eliminate additional trucks that are just used for exemption weeks; thereby, reducing collection costs and the amount of potential greenhouse gas emissions.

5 Initially the Brampton CarVHybrid and Mississauga Four Bag pilot programs were not scheduled to receive exemption periods for the reasons discussed above. To date the data has shown that on average, in Mississauga less than 2% of residents and less than 11% of Brampton CarVHybrid residents had extra bags at the curb without proper tags and that residents have been compliant to remove extra bags from the curb. However, upon further discussions with residents and examination of the collection schedule, staff added the exemption periods back in for the week of December 31, January 5, 2013 to lessen the impact of bi-weekly collection during the Christmas holidays. 4. Curbside Diversion Preliminary results from the pilot have shown that by going to some form of bi-weekly garbage collection, the total percentage of garbage collected at the curb has decreased and the organics and recycling have increased as demonstrated in the following graphs. Please note that the percentages shown in the three graphs represents the percentage of garbage, recycling and organics only and do not include yard waste, white goods or material diverted from the CRC's. Graph 1: Composition of Curbside Material Collected - Garbage (All of Peel vs. Bi-Weekly Pilot Areas) All of Peel Mississauga - 4 Brampton -3 Bag Brampton - Cart Caledon- Cart

6 January 14,201 3 Graph 2: Composition of Curbside Material - Recycling (All of Peel vs. Bi-Weekly Pilot Areas) 40% 35% 35% 14% 32% n 10% -- 5% -- 0% - I I I All of Peel 2011 Mississauga - 4 Bag Brampton -3 Bag Brampton - Cart Caledon- Cart Graph 3: Composition of Curbside Material - Organics (All of Peel vs. Bi-Weekly Pilot Areas) 20% 18% 16% 14% 18% 17% 12% 10% 8% 6% - 4% 2% 7% - I 0% I I I All of Peel Mississauga - 4 Bag Brampton -3 Bag Brarnpton - Cart Caledon- Cart

7 5. Green Bin Participation In April 2007, Peel launched the Region-wide green bin program. The residential participation rate (determined by set out studies) for the first year was 45%; in recent years the Region's participation rate has been on a slight decline to 37% as demonstrated in Graph 4: Green Bin Participation 2007 to Graph 4: Green Bin Participation to 2012 Year Organics Participation by Pilot Area, details the participation rates for each of the Region's Pilot Areas in comparison to one another and the 2012 average for all of Peel. This table demonstrates that bi-weekly garbage collection results in an increased participation levels in the green bin program.

8 ~ - 5a -8- Graph 5: Organics Participation (All of Peel 2012 vs. Pilot Areas) 60% 50% 40% 30% ao% 10% 0% All of Peel 2012 Mississauga - 4 Bag Brampton 3 Bag Brampton -Cart Cdsdon Cart 6. Waste Audits Quarterly waste audits have been scheduled in each of the pilot areas to evaluate the composition of the garbage and the contamination in the recycling and organic streams, and two have been completed to date. The results of the waste audits will be able to provide valuable quantitative data, which when used in conjunction with the diversion rates and green bin participation rates will result in a comprehensive approach to determine recommendations to bring fotward to Council to make an informed decision. Waste audit data provides information on the level of contamination for each pilot method. This allows staff to take this data and project the impact of collection policies on our existing infrastructure (Material Recovery Facility and Organics Processing) and plan accordingly. PRELIMINARY EVALUATION AND NEXT STEPS To evaluate the bi-weekly collection programs Regional Staff have set up the following evaluation categories: Diversion/Resource Recovery: o Existing diversion rate vs all of Peel, excluding Yard Waste Contamination o Blue Box and Green Bin based on audit data Processing/Disposal Costs based on contamination Bi-weekly Program Roll Out Costs Collection Costs o Expected savings vs. existing program

9 5a -9- Green Bin Participation o 2011 rates for all of Peel vs. rates for each pilot Greenhouse Gas Emissions o Based on truck hours Resident Feedback - Surveys; specifically looking at the following questions: o I have easily been able to adapt to every-other-week garbage collection; o I can manage pet waste on an every-other-week garbage collection schedule; o I can manage diapers on an every-other-week garbage collection schedule; o Every-other-week garbage collection for the Region of Peel is a good idea; o Cart collection for garbage and recycling is a good idea. Resident Feedback - Focus Group Resident Feedback - CallsI s o Number of callsl s received by staff o Number of calls attended by staff (pro-active) Worker Injuries Each pilot program will be evaluated based on the categorieslcriteria listed above and a recommendation on which pilot program to proceed with will be brought forward to Council in June In the next few months staff will be bringing forward the following reports related to bi-weekly garbage collection: April 4, 2013 (Waste Management Committee); recommendation on whether or not to adopt Biweekly Garbage Collection for all of Peel o Decision by Regional Council to follow on April 25, June 6, 2013 (Waste Management Committee); recommendation on preferred method of biweekly collection (carts vs. bags) for the collection contract o Decision by Regional Council to follow on June 27, In order to minimize the disruptionlchange for residents in the cart based pilots, the current level of service provided to the cart based collection programs in Brampton Ward 9 and Caledon Ward 1 will continue until Regional Council can make an informed decision on bi-weekly garbage collection and the preferred method (carts vs. bags). CONCLUSION Piloting bi-weekly garbage collection provides local data and resident feedback that will help Regional Council make an informed decision about whether or not to implement bi-weekly collection Region-wide. It also allows staff to develop a made in Peel solution that meets the needs of our residents. Preliminary results show that bi-weekly garbage collection does result in increased diversion. Staff will provide a final report to Regional Council in June 2013 summarizing the findings of the pilot project with a recommendation on the best option for the next Waste Collection Contract scheduled to start January 2016 for both BramptonIMississauga and Caledon.

10 Dan Labrecque Commissioner of Public Works Approved for Submission: D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer For further information regarding this report, please contact Norman Lee at extension 4703 or via at ca Authored By: Leigh-Anne Marquis c. Legislative Services I\~L N. Lee Director, Waste Management

11 5a -1- APPENDIX I Pilot Area Locations and Collection Program I Pilot Project Area - Mississauga, 4 Bag Limit Ward 3, Councillor Fonseca 4 bags of garbage every-other-wee k 8 bulky items r Recycling and organics weekly i Yard waste unchanged I No exemption periods rn One year pilot began February 27, 2012 Open House February 14,2012 m 35 residents attended I Pilot Project Area - Brarnpton, 3 Bag Limit r Ward I, Councillor Moore 3 bags of garbage every-othe~ week & bulky items I Recycling and organics weekly r Yard waste unchanged I Exemption periods remain r One year pilot began February 29,2012 I Open House February 13,2012 ' D 40 reqidents attended

12 APPENDIX I I Pilot Project Area - Brarnpton, Cart Ward 9, Councillor Sprovieri 360L Garbage cart every-other-week & bulky items 360L Recycling cart every-other-week Garbage & Recycling collected on alternate weeks 80L Organics cart weekly Yard waste unchanged No exemption periods Hybrid Areas (shaded grey) One year pilot began April 12, Open House April 5, residents attended I Pilot Project Area - Caledon, Cart r Ward I, Councillor Paterak m 240L Garbage cart every-otherweek & bulky items 360L Recycling cart every-otherweek Garbage & Recycling collected on alternate weeks 80L Organics cart weekly rn Yardwaste unchanged w Exemption periods remain w One year pilot began April 13, Open House April 3,2012 D Over I 00 residents attended