Trash and Recycling in Fort Collins...City involved in policy, education, data collection,...

Trash and Recycling in Fort Collins Caroline Mitchell

2016

Fort Collins Overview

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• 158,000 residents • College town (Colorado State University) • Privatized collection system – open market for all sectors • Three primary haulers operate in town • City involved in policy, education, data collection,

regulation (licenses trash haulers), infrastructure

Foundational Policies

Private Hauler Collection Requirements • Haulers required to bundle recycling service into trash

service for single family homes, use PAYT pricing structure Licensing with Reporting • Any company that hauls trash must have license • Must report tons by material and by sector twice / year Single-stream recycling • Not required by policy, but in practice by most haulers

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40

28

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Recycling policy in Fort Collins

Pay-As-You Throw (PAYT) starts

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1995

PAYT updates

2004 2007 2013 2016

electronics landfill ban

2009

cardboard landfill ban

1999

Under development: Community Recycling Ordinance

Road to Zero Waste plan goal: 50%

diversion by 2010 Goal: 75%

diversion by 2020

Diversion Rates in Fort Collins

28% 32% 30% 33%

74% 74% 78%

83%

58% 59%

63% 68%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

2011 2012 2013 2014

ResidentialCommercialMSWIndustialCommunity

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Recycling goals in Fort Collins

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2013 2015 1999

Road to Zero Waste plan

goal: 50% diversion by 2010

Goal: 75% diversion by 2020

Climate Action Goal Adopted; Road to Zero Waste is key component

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Goal: Zero Waste by 2030

Landfill Bans in Fort Collins

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2007 2013

electronics landfill ban

cardboard landfill ban

• Resulted in increases in commercial and residential single stream, cardboard-only collection, and cardboard collected at drop-off centers

• Continued education and reinforcement needed

• Difficult to implement without haulers rejecting pickups

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Landfill ban on electronics now in effect state-wide in Colorado

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$45

Single-Family Policy

1) Haulers must provide carts 2) Recycling bundled with trash for no charge 3) Pricing based on volume of trash can subscription

with 100% price differences between sizes

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$20

*rates are for example – actual rates set by haulers

$30 $15

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Results of programs

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95%

68% 48%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Single Family Homes Multi-Family Complexes Commercial

2014 Recycling Subscription Rate, Fort Collins (% of customers subscribed to recycling service)

Data provided by Fort Collins’ private haulers

Multi-Family and Business Programs

WRAP (Waste Reduction and Recycling Assistance Program) • Educational materials • Rebates

• conversation starter rather than primary incentive • On-site waste assessments

• Identify opportunities to divert more, save $ by decreasing trash

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39 42 54 55

Additional for Businesses: Recognition & Certification Programs

ClimateWise program • Voluntary program for

businesses (370 participants) • Assistance and recognition

regarding waste, energy, transportation, water

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• Since 2000, the program has: • saved more than $92 million • reduced 1.3 million metric tons of carbon

dioxide equivalent.

Outreach & Education

• Guidelines available as paper sign, decal, metal sign

• Share guidelines graphic with haulers, regional partners

• aiming for consistent communications

• Recycling directory on website

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76

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Lead by Example: Municipal Activities

Green Procurement

Road Construction

Recycling • Include quarterly audits,

ability to decrease trash service in contract

Waste Innovation Fund 13

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10

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Public Space Recycling

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• Goal of 1:1 trash:recycling ratio

• Accomplished in 2015 for all parks

• In progress for downtown

Backyard & Neighborhood Composting

Backyard composting education via: • Website www.fcgov.com/composting.php • Classes (videos of classes on website too) Partnering in distributed neighborhood compost pilot in 2016: • Small-scale compost bins in community gardens hosted by

neighborhood volunteer

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Construction & Demolition Recycling

Building code requires recycling on construction sites: • Wood • Metal • Cardboard • Aggregates

(concrete, bricks, etc.) City provides a C&D resource sheet with all permit applications, includes info for deconstruction non-profit (National Center for Craftsmanship)

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2016 2002

Hard-to-Recycle Center opening: electronics, wood, yard trimmings, antifreeze, batteries, oil, paint http://www.fcgov.com/recycling/timberline.php

Recycling drop-off center opens (Traditional recyclables)

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86

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Infrastructure: Recycling Drop-off Centers

City of Fort Collins Crushing Facility

• Accepts Asphalt, Concrete, Dirt, Porcelain • Available for use by municipal operations, public too

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• Recycled 213,500 tons of material in 2014

• 132,000 tons of

MSW generated in 2014

• Revenue-neutral project

Source of Fort Collins Community Discards (2014)

14%

16%

70%

Commercial

Residential

Industrial

Industrial Materials: concrete, asphalt, dirt, scrap metal, commercial wood scraps, brewery organics, biosolids, trash collected in roll-off containers

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Private Sector Programs

Teachers’ Closet – supplies for teachers and students Compost Processing: yard trimmings only at in-town compost drop-off site, all organics at site 20 miles from town Anaerobic Digestion: • Heartland Biodigester (40 miles from town) • possible expansion of wastewater treatment facility Commercial Food Scraps Collection

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87

94

95

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fcgov.com/recycling

Caroline Mitchell cmitchell@fcgov.com

970-221-6288

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Diversion Rates in Fort Collins

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54% 58% 59% 65%

69%

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Recycled/Composted Landfilled

Chart includes residential, commercial, and industrial materials

2014 MSW Diversion rate

= 34%

Commercial / Multi-Family System

Same as single family homes: • Volume-based pricing for trash

(Bill based on size of dumpster, service frequency)

Different than single family homes: • Recycling is separate fee,

NOT bundled

Landfill bans on cardboard and electronics do apply

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