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• The Do’s and Don’t’s of Fully Automated Garbage & Recycling Collection
City of Commerce City, CO
Maria D’Andrea, P.E.Director of Public Works
August 29, 2016
CommerceCityIsThinkingGreen!• In 2015, Commerce City rolled out new residential trash and recycling collection services, switching to a fully automated cart collection system.
• This change:
• reduces environmental impacts
• saves the City money, and
• makes collection more efficient for everyone
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AlittlebitaboutCommerceCityDenver Metro AreaSize: 4,532 mi²Population: 2.75M
Commerce CitySize: 34 mi²/61 mi²Population: 51,000
AlittlebitaboutCommerceCity
• 3rd fastest growing City in the state
• Adjacent to city of Denver and north & west sides of Denver International Airport (DIA)
• Population began to grow in the 2000’s; increased population from 20,000 to 51,000
• 45.5% of population comprised of individuals of Hispanic descent
• More than 1,500 employers
• 25 miles of trails, a championship golf course and 700 acres of open space & parks
• One of the country’s largest soccer complexes and the nation’s largest urban wildlife refuge
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PreviousGarbage&RecyclingProgram
• 14,700 households served
• One provider city‐wide
• Unlimited trash pickup – weekly
• Recycling pickup – bi‐weekly (high participation 60‐65% but low
diversion rate < 8%)
• City pays for residential trash & recycling service through General
Fund revenues; just over $2.1M in 2014
• No incentive to recycle or limit amount of trash generated
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DO – solicitfeedbackfromyourcustomers
• Telephone town hall reached over 712 citizens
• High level of support for a modified program
• Lack of information, aesthetics and unawareness of recycling
options identified as hurdles
• City Council feedback
DO –EstablishGoal&Objectives
Program Goal
• To provide services that effectively collect and dispose of solid
waste in a manner that is consistent with the applicable State,
Federal and local laws and regulations, while maximizing the
fullest recovery of recyclable materials possible with the least
impact on the environment and in a cost‐effective manner so as
to enhance the safety and aesthetics of the City.
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Programobjectives
• Minimizing the rate of waste generation through education and
source reduction
• Encouraging and facilitating the recovery, reuse and recycling of
material within the waste stream
• Increasing the amount and types of materials being recycled
• Improving education to increase diversion rates and waste
reduction
• Expanding recycling participation
Programtargets
• Work with Waste Management to reduce missed pickups to less
than 10 per month
• Respond to requests for service or complaints within 2 business
days; add new residences to system within 3 days of receiving the
certificate of occupancy
• Increase the recycling diversion rate to 15%
• Increase City employee recycling rates by 10%
• Continue to support Tri‐County Health hazardous waste collection
events
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Proposals
• Provide similar level of service to the current program but also solicit options from the industry for different service types & levels of service to increase recycling diversion rates
• Request for Proposal (RFP) included prices for base services, add alternates and a bid option
• Two proposals received both with base service costs plus five additional options
Proposals
Service Level Net Cost Difference
Base Service ($63,382)
Base Service + Weekly Recycling $306,240
Base Service & Eliminate Large Item Pickup
($89,482)
Fully Automated Collection ($606,262)
Fully Automated Collection + Weekly Recycling
($360,922)
Enhanced Fully Automated Collection $395,978
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ProgramCostSavings
Previous Program Cost (2014) = $2,153,122
OR $12.05/household/month
New Program Cost (2015) = $1,546,860
OR $8.89/household/month
RevisedGarbage&RecyclingProgram
• One provider city‐wide
• Contractor supplies & delivers one 96‐gallon garbage container and one 96‐gallon recycling container to each existing and future household
• Fully automated, weekly trash service ‐ LIMITED
• Fully automated, bi‐weekly single‐stream recycling
• Any additional garbage & recycling service, above the 96‐gallon limit, would be paid for by the customer; billed directly to customer
• Large item pick‐up for each household, (limited to 5 times per year)
• Trash and recycling services for all City facilities
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DO – communicate(andover‐communicate)withyourcustomers
• Focus on both traditional and non‐traditional means
• All bi‐lingual materials
• Use service provider resources
• Create a “tag line”
• Assistance for the elderly
OutreachActivitiesRaisedAwareness,SparkedAction
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DON’T–underestimatetheimplementationchallenges
• 29,400 carts delivered in February/March
• > 7,000 customers affected by route changes
• Responded to more than 4,000 phone calls/emails in a 5‐month
period
• Missed pickups
• Old garbage can & recycling tote collection
• Can size swap outs (32‐, 64‐, or 96‐gallon options)
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DO – setupsystemsinadvancetoaddressconcerns
• Put someone in charge – Project Manager
• Establish weekly meetings with service provider
• Train service provider staff in advance
Issue/resolution spreadsheet – OneDrive live
Green Pages (Scope of Work)
• Bring on or identify dedicated City resources to assist
• Use service provider expertise & resources
• Ensure good communication with subs
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RecyclingRatesIncreasedSignificantly• Implementing carts and a strong outreach plan led to higher diversion rates
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Bi‐LingualCommunication
Efforts
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ResidentsRecycledaRangeofMaterials
• Commerce City residents recycled 2,835 tons of aluminum, cardboard, paper, scrap metals, glass and plastics #1‐#7 in 2015
Paper,CardboardDominatedtheMix
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VolumePeakedinSummerMonths
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Tons of Recycling Tons of MSW
DiverseBenefitsforCity,ResidentsBy recycling 2,835 tons, Commerce City conserved the following resources:
• 10,442,980 kWh of electricityEnough to power 870 homes for a year
• 194,300 gallons of oilEnough to heat and cool 962 homes for a year
• 44,838 gallons of gasolineEnough to drive 1,255,474 miles
• 37,705 mature treesEnough to produce 467,164,668 sheets of newspaper
• 13,077,852 gallons of waterEnough to meet the fresh water needs of 697,485 people for a year
• 9,588 cubic yards of landfill airspaceEnough to meet the disposal needs of 147,754 people
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Shrinking Carbon Footprint
7,581 tons of residential recycled material
diverted since 2012
Over 16,890 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent conserved
As calculated by the US EPA WARM Model
• Two Big Belly Solar compactors installed in public park and at the Recreation Center
• Dual units for trash and recycling. These units reduce the cost of collection with solar compaction power.
• Art contest for Commerce City youth that is attached to the front and back of each unit
SolarCompactorsSupportRecyclingEfforts
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DO –BeNimble/Adapt
• Began Green Waste events to address concerns about yard waste
• Evaluating options for composting collection, a drop off site, or
voucher program with local business
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DON’T–EverStopCommunicating
• On‐going issues with garbage mixed into recycling containers
• Quarterly flyers/monthly communications in newspaper/Tweets
• Newsletter mailed every year with recycling calendar
• Created an on‐line mapping interface to identify day of service for
both garbage & recycling pickup
DO –HaveFun!
• Team effort increased camaraderie of staff
• Service provider/City staff cross training & lunch events
• Morning pep rallies – drawings/giveaways
• Still cited as a “success” by the City Council
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QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION
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