Report Purpose: To make recommendations intended to improve the City-funded Recycling Depot Program.

Transcription

1 Co^itlam For Council March 21, 2017 Our File: /000/ Doc#: V3 To: From: Subject: City Manager General Manager, Engineering and Public Works Recycling Depot Strategy For: Council Recommendation: That Council direct staff to; 1. Permanently close the Mariner Way Recycling Depot when the site is required by FortisBC for construction of the new gas line; 2. Promote the use of the City-funded Coquitlam Transfer Station ' Recycling Depot; 3. Provide supervision of the Town Centre Park Recycling Depot during operating hours; 4. Expand the range of services at the Town Centre Park Recycling Depot to include the free drop off of recyclable items such as expanded polystyrene packaging, plastic bags, small electronic appliances and household batteries; and 5. Operate the Town Centre Park Recycling Depot from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Wednesdays through Sundays, and be closed on all Statutory Holidays. Report Purpose: To make recommendations intended to improve the City-funded Recycling Depot Program. Strategic Goal: This report links to the City's Strategic Goals to enhance the sustainability of City services and infrastructure. Background: Since the early I990's, the City has maintained two recycling depots; the Mariner Way Depot (Mariner Depot) near the Austin Works Yard and the recycling depot within the Town Centre Park (TC Depot). Both civic depots are small and unstaffed. The depots are redundant to the curbside recycling collection program provided at no cost to the City by Multi-Material BC, as the depots are only intended to receive the same types of recyclables that residents can place in unlimited quantities at the curbside every week. Compared to the City-funded recycling facility located at the Coquitlam

2 Page 2 March 21, 2017 Transfer Station (CIS Depot) and a variety of other third-party recycling facilities located nearby, the range of recyclable items accepted at the depots is very limited. Attachment A lists the items accepted for recycling at the Mariner and TC Depots, the CIS Depot, two Encorp Depots in the City and two private recycling depots in Port Coquitlam. Attachment B shows the locations of these recycling facilities. In November 2016, Council received a staff report identifying a number of challenges at the Mariner and TC Depots. Attachment C provides a summary of the benefits and challenges of the four options discussed in that report. Option 3 recommended permanently closing the Mariner Depot while maintaining and improving the TC Depot. This option received the most interest from Council and is the focus of this report. Discussion/Analysis: Mariner Way Recycling Depot The City owns and maintains 11 large metal recycling bins at this depot. The bins are older, and the repair costs have been steadily increasing over the past few years. This depot cannot be closed and secured at night, because the full length of the depot is open to the Service Centre road. In addition to the regular bin servicing costs, the costs to provide daily clean-up of litter, and the disposal of excess materials and illegally dumped materials are significant. In 2016, the cost to operate and maintain the Mariner Depot was approximately $225,000. By contrast, the City's portion of the operating cost for the CTS Depot is estimated to be approximately $82,000 annually. Since the CTS Depot is as convenient for many of the residents in southwest Coquitlam as the Mariner Depot and the CTS facility accepts a much wider range of recyclable materials at a substantially lower operating cost, staff recommends that the Mariner Depot be permanently closed and the CTS Depot be promoted as the City's newest and best location for recycling a wide variety of materials. The existing CTS Depot and transfer station are expected to be in operation until Discussions are underway with Metro Vancouver and the Tri-Cities to consider a dedicated recycling depot located on the site of the new CTS transfer station, but there is no final estimate of costs or commitment from the Tri-Cities to pay for the depot as yet. The Mariner Depot is located within the FortisBC gas line right-of-way and falls within the construction zone for the new gas line. Staff has recently learned that the Mariner Depot will have to be removed or relocated for a number of months to accommodate construction of the new line, which is expected to commence imminently. To this end, staff recommends File#: /000/ Doc#: V3

3 Page 3 March 21, 2017 expediting the closure of the Mariner Depot to align with FortisBC's construction schedule. If this recommendation is endorsed by Council, staff will engage with the construction contractor to facilitate the site clearing. If Council prefers to maintain the Mariner Depot, it would need to be temporarily closed for construction and all bins removed for approximately 4 months. In either case, staff will initiate a multi-faceted communications campaign to inform the public of the status of the depot. Town Centre Park Recycling Depot The TC Depot requires approximately the same amount of effort by the City's contractor to clean up litter and illegally dumped materials as the Mariner Depot, because it is unstaffed and materials are dumped both during the day and outside the fence at night. The operating costs for 2016 were approximately $230,000. Staff recommends continuing to operate the TC Depot, but with on-site supervision and improved security to enable more types of recyclables to be accepted. The Town Centre Park Master Planning Process is anticipated to recommend other park uses for the TC Depot site, resulting in the elimination of the TC Depot. However, the implementation of an adopted master plan as it affects this site may be a few years away. A new recycling depot location outside of the park would be sought at that time, should Council wish to continue to offer a City-operated Depot. In the meantime, the proposed improvements to the existing TC Depot would provide immediate benefits in terms of service and cost effectiveness. Staff recommends the TC Depot always be supervised when it is open to prevent illegal dumping and littering during the day, and so staff is available to provide assistance to residents. Consideration for a Temporary Full-Time staff position would be appropriate as the depot's existence in the park remains uncertain. Staff supervision and a secure site is required, if items such as expanded polystyrene (commonly known as styrofoam), plastic bags, household batteries and small electronic appliances are to be accepted. Residents have consistently indicated through surveys and comments to the City that they would like to have the ability to drop off these items at the civic depots. To improve surveillance at night, staff proposes the installation of an additional security camera which would provide an enhanced view of activities on Trevor Wingrove Way outside of the depot. To maximize public access to the TC Depot while minimizing the cost of supervision, staff recommends the depot be open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday. This schedule is in place at the Richmond and New Westminster Depots. It would create one regular 40 hour per week shift, with occasional auxiliary staff support to cover vacation leave and sick File#: /000/ Doc#: V3

4 Page 4 March 21, 2017 leave of the regular staff. The costs for a TFT position and Auxiliary support are included in the summary of costs in Attachment D. Several changes to the depot layout would be required to accommodate the proposed improvements within the existing site. One 40 cu. yd. roll off bin would replace the existing six bins for cardboard/mixed paper. One 40 cu. yd. roll off bin would be added for expanded polystyrene. Plastic bags, batteries and electronics do not require large roll off bins and would be located away from the three large containers. A small rented office trailer would be positioned in the corner of the depot for the on-site staff. The proposed reconfigured depot layout is shown in Attachment E. Currently, it is difficult for residents to safely maneuver their vehicles when other vehicles are on-site. To minimize congestion and improve safe access to the site, the depot entrance gate would be partially closed to allow pedestrian access only. There is ample parking on Trevor Wingrove Way for residents to carry in their materials and be observed by security cameras. Financial Implications: In 2016, the total cost to operate the Mariner and TC Depots was approximately $455,000. The annual cost to operate the TC Depot, incorporating the proposed improvements, is estimated to be $278,000 as shown in Attachment D. This would result in an estimated reduction of $177,000 in annual operating costs for the civic recycling depot program. The Solid Waste Utility funds the operation of the recycling depots, but the City does not restrict the use of the depots only to single family and duplex homeowners who pay the Utility fee. To encourage all residents to use the City's Recycling Depot Facilities and create a more equitable funding arrangement, staff intends to bring forward a proposal to amend the funding formula to address this imbalance during the next budget cycle for Council's consideration. Conclusion: Staff recommends the permanent closure.of the Mariner Way Depot, the promotion of the Coquitlam Transfer Station Recycling Depot as an alternative to the Mariner Way Depot and adding staff supervision and enhancement of the Town Centre Park Depot to improve the level of service. File#: /000/ Doc#: V3

5 Page 5 March 21, 2017 Attachments: A. Items Accepted at Local Recycling Facilities B. Locations of Local Recycling Facilities C. Recycling Depot Options D. Cost Summary of Current Depot Operation and Proposed Changes E. Town Centre Recycling Depot Proposed Reconfiguration This report was prepared by Verne Kucy, Environmental Projects Manager, and reviewed by Steffanie Warriner, P.Eng., Manager Environmental Services. File#; /000/ Doc#: v3

6 ^. ATTACHMENT A Items Accepted at Local Recycling Facilities City Recycling Depots Beverage Containers. i ' ^ Coquitlam Transfer Station 1200 Lihited Blvd. Happy Stan's Recycling 1603 Langan Ave. Port Coquitlam Coquitlam Encorp Biggar Bottle Depot Lougheed Encorp 2554 Barnet Hwy 2577 kingsway Ave. 1045A Lougheed Hvyy Port Coquitlam :. r', Books v"../.../. Cardboard ^ ^ V Cellphones ^ : Clothing Cooking Oil Electronics ^. V: ^ :. V ^ :.... Gasoline and Flammable Liquids /. / ^ -/..; - >/,.,. ^ Glass Bottles and Jars ' Household Batteries... ^. V.... y Lead-acid Batteries. Lightbulbs and Tubes Magazines Metal Packaging ^, V-' ^ Mixed Paper ^ ' ^.. / ^. ' '.'.V V /, '' "... \.. '. ' '.' Motor Oil and Filters ^ Newspaper ;V:,-. ;. ^ Outdoor Power Equiprhent,: A v"... : ^ Paint V V Pesticides... Plastic Bags ^ - V,... Plastic Containers ^ ' V Power Tools v' Propane Tanks. Scrap Metal ^ Small Appliances V. V Smoke and CO Alarms V - ^ Thermostats "V. White Goods Solvents 1 v' V.. Styrofoam V ; ^ I." * ^ ^ " ' V : ^ - items accepted for free * - items accepted for a fee File#; /000/ Doc#: V1

7 Locations of Local Recycling Facilities ^ City Owned Recycling Depot

8 ATTACHMENT C Recycling Depot Options Option 1 - Status Quo: Benefits Challenges Status Quo - Existing unsupervised Town Centre (TC) and Mariner Way depots continue to provide current level of service Residents are familiar with the locations Depots provide two additional recycling locations for residents No new land required Only paper, cardboard and household containers accepted Illegal dumping occurs during day and night Untidy condition reported frequently, despite daily clean up Vandalism of gate and fencing at TC depot requires frequent repair Inability to prevent use of Mariner depot after hours Specialized containers at Mariner depot require frequent repair Collection of recyclables is funded by the solid waste utility, but there is no ability to restrict users to single family dwelling residents Some users may feel uncomfortable in the presence of others searching through the bins Option 2 - Operate both depots with staffing and security improvements: Benefits Challenges Operate both depots with staff supervision Would reduce illegal dumping when staff are present Staff could monitor daily usage and call for bin servicing on an as needed basis, leadingto tidier appearance Staff presence would discourage potential confrontations among users Significant new operating costs incurred for staffing and support services Would not prevent illegal dumping after hours Range of recycling services still very limited due to available space File#: /000/ Doc#: V3 Pagel

9 ATTACHMENT C Option 3 - Close Mariner Depot / Maintain TC Depot: Benefits Challenges Close Mariner Depot but maintain TC depot with staffing and improved security Cleanup and disposal costs associated with the Mariner depot could be redirected to making improvements at TC depot (staffing and security) TC depot offers a convenient recycling option for NE Coquitlam Providing staff and additional security at TC would minimize the potential for illegal dumping and improve site tidiness and cleanup Closing Mariner Depot may encourage some residents to make more use of MMBC's curbside collection program, the CTS depot and local private facilities Cost neutral Small site at TC depot precludes expansion of recycling services beyond cardboard and containers Illegal dumping and vandalism after hours would likely still occur at TC depot Maintaining the TC depot may not align with the longer term TC Park Master Plan Perception of service reduction Option 4 - Close both Civic Depots (Preferred Staff Option): Benefits Challenges Close both civic depots and redirect residents to make better use of free curbside collection, the City-funded CTS recycling depot, and local privately operated depots Significant cost savings as costs associated with disposal and site maintenance would be eliminated (approx. $500k) City depot sites would become available for other uses Encourages better use of other free and low cost recycling options in the City that provide a greater economy of scale and wider range of services; such as, MMBC's curbside program, Metro Vancouver's depot at the CTS, and a variety of private depots perception of service reduction Effective communications campaign would be needed Less convenience for NE residents, in particular File#;ll' /000/20l6-l Doc#: V3 Page 2

10 Attachment D Cost Summary of Current Depot Operation and Proposed Changes 2016 Costs to Operate Depots; Mariner Way Recycling Depot: Daily extra Clean up $109,000 Bin service and delivery to processors $103,000 Hazardous waste disposal $7,000 Repairs to City-owned bins $6,000 Total for Mariner Way Depot: $225,000 Town Centre Recycling Depot: Daily extra clean up $112,000 Bin service and delivery to processors $103,000 Daily opening and closing access to Depot $6,000 Hazardous waste disposal $6,000 Repairs to fencing $3,000 Total for Town Centre Depot: $230,000 Estimated Costs Related to Proposed Changes; One-time costs: Mariner Way Recycling Depot decommissioning: $3,000 Town Centre Depot security improvements $5,000 Total One-time costs $8,000 Annual costs to operate Town Centre Recycling Depot: Bin service and delivery to processors $150,000 Depot operator $84,000 Extra Clean up as needed $25,000 Office trailer $12,000 Hazardous waste disposal $4,000 Repairs to fencing $3,000 Totaifor Town Centre Depot: $278,000 Summary: 2016 costs to operate Mariner Way and Town Centre Depots: $455,000 Estimated annual costs to operate improved Town,Centre Depot: $278,000 Estimated reduction in annuai costs to operate Depot program: $l 77,000 File#; /000/ Doc#: V1

11 Town Centre Recycling Depot Proposed Reconfiguration Attachment E Expanded polystyrene Mixed household containers Cardboard and mixed paper Book bin Small electronics Plastic bags Household batteries or Win grove Way