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
1 2 3
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
40
12
16
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
73
Lead by Example: Municipal Activities
Green Procurement
Road Construction
Recycling • Include quarterly audits,
ability to decrease trash service in contract
Waste Innovation Fund 13
40
10
31
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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67
69
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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)
83
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
53
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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