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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCBRC Report To: From: Date: Re: Chambcrsburg Borough Council Chambersburg Recycling/Landfill Committee October 15, 2008 Preliminary Evaluation of Recycling Practices of the Borough of Chambers burg This report has been prepared by the members of the Borough of Chambersburg Recycling/Landfill Committee with input from other individuals who have attended our monthly meetings. As you are aware the committee was f()l'med by the Chambersburg Borough Council on March of2008. Members of the committee taking part in this report are Russell Martz, Ken Gill, Charles White, Edward Wells, Dan Wolfe, Randi Jo Market and John J. Szajna. Other individuals who have attended the meeting of the committee and who have offered input into this report findings and recommendations were George R. Hurd (Franklin County Cooperative Extension) Brian Rodgers (Stafl Planner with Zeiders & Szajna, Inc. and Chambersburg Resident) and Christi Adams (Chambersburg Waste Paper Co., Inc.). Additionally, the committee wishes to express thanks and offer recognition to Robert L. Wagner, Borough Engineer/Director of Public Works, Arnold Barbour, Operations Supervisors, Public Works Department of the Borough of Chambers burg and Kelly Adams, President of Chambers burg Waste Paper Co., Inc. for their individual presentations that provided insight into the Borough recycling practices, the economics 0 f' recycling in today's market place and the recycling practices prevalent in other municipalities throughout Franklin County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The committee also reviewed the recycling performance of the borough f()r the last four years through examination of the Borough's and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection records. The Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, Act 101 of 1998, P.L. 556, 53 P.S. 4000.10 I et seq. (Act 101) governs municipal recycling within the Commonwealth. The Act established a goal that, by 1997, at least 25 percent of the municipal waste and source-separated recyclable material generated in the state be recycled. When that goal was met, the Commonwealth set a new recycling goal of35 percent, to be met by 2002. In response to the mandates of Act 10 I, the Borough of Chambersburg on July 11, 1990 enacted Ordinance No. 90-9, governing waste collection and recycling within the borough. Findings and Conclusions A review of the Borough's Solid Waste Ordinance revealed the t<:)llowing inconsistencies and omissions when compared to the requirements of Act 101: 41 'Thc borough's ordinance does not mandate recycling for commercial, municipal and institutional establishments located within its municipal boundaries. Section 150 I (c)( I )(iii) of the Act rcquires a governing body to adopt an ordinance that requires "Persons to separate high grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste and other materials deemed appropriate by the municipality generated at commercial, municipal or institutional establishments and from community activities ..." Community activities are municipal, charitable, association sponsored cvents such as "Chamber Fest", "Icefest", "Cinco de Mayo", "4th of July Fireworks. " ., Act 101 defines "leaf waste" as "leaves, garden residue, shrubbery and tree trimmings and similar material, but not including grass clippings." The Act requires that a municipality's ordinance must require persons to separate leaf waste from other municipal waste generate at their homes. · Act 101 requires that if commcrcial, municipal or institutional cstablishments and community activities have provided for the recycling of materials, by means other than municipal or municipal contracted collection, these entities must annually provide written documentation to the municipality of the total number of tons recycled. A summary of Act 101's leaf waste collection requirements are attached as attachment "A". Section 904 of Act 101 established pert{mnance grants f{)r municipal recycling programs. Grants are bascd upon the weight of source-separated recyclable materia!.' Act 140, signed on November 9, 2006, establishes pert{mnance requirements tor Recycling Pcrf{mnance Grant applicants. Mandatcd municipalities that apply for the grant as wcll as any other municipalitics (except for counties) which recei ve in excess of $10,000, must meet the f<:)Ilowing pert<:mnance requirements: I clear glass, colored glass, aluminulll, steel and bi-metallic cans, high grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics. >~ Rcq~]ires, tbrough ordinance, that all residcnts havewastc and recycling ~)crvlcc. <II Has an implemented residential recycling program and f~lcilitate a commcrcial recycling program or participates in a similar county or multi- municipal program. . Has a residential and business recycling education program. ~ Has a program of enforcement that periodically monitors participation, reccives complaints and issues warnings for required participants and provides fincs, penaltics or both, in its recycling ordinance. ~ Has provisions, participates in a county or multi-municipal program or facilitates a private sector program for the recycling of special materials. (i.e. household hazardous waste, electronics, computers, etc.) Sponsors a program, facilitates a program or supports an organization to addrcss illcgal dumping and/or jittering problems. . . Has a person or entity dcsignated as recycling coordinator who is responsiblc f()r recycling data collection and reporting recycling program performance in the municipality or municipalities. If any component has not becn implcmented, the municipality must use the awarded Performance Grant funds to rcmedy the situation. ).'ailurc to mcct the Act 140 requircments or to expcnd performance grant funds on meeting thc rcquirements could jeopardize a community's ability to apply lor futurc performancc grants. Capturing data rcgarding recycling activitics is essential in tracking and monitoring a rccycling program's perf(mnance. Mandated municipalitics, such as Chambersburg Borough, are rcquired to submit an annual report to the PaDEP that indicatcs the tons of each material that is recycled during the prcvious year. Accurate data is vital not only with regard to compliancc, but also is basic to the financial viability of the program and rcimbursement from the Commonwealth undcr Scction 904 of Act 10 l. The PaDEP grant award f{mnula for Section 904 Performance Crants is weighted towards cummcrcial tonnagc? A review of PaDEP's Municipal Recycling Program Pcrf(mnance Grants [()r 2005 and 2006 is attached as attachment "8". As indicatcd, Chambcrsburg Borough received $25,797.00 and $31,135.00 Jar its 2005 and 2006 rccycling program respectively. This figurc appears to be lower than that which was rcceived li'om other municipalitics having a similar population and similar commercial/industrial cntities. necommcndations Based upon the f()rcgoing, the committee is of the opinion that the borough should consider the implcmentation of the following in order to strengthen its rccycling program, bring its recycling program into compliancc with Act 101 and maintain a cost-effective solid waste rnanagemcnt and rccycling program. For purposes ofimplementation, we have dividcd our recommendations into two categories: (1) Immediate Actions- undertakings that could to be implemcnted now and (2) Long Term Strategies -- actions to be considered in the near futurc. Immcdiate Undertakings 1) Thc borough should considcr rcdrafting its Solid 'Waste Ordinancc to cont(mTI it to the requirements ofAet 101, to include at a minimum, provisions for mandatory rccycling and yearly reporting by commercial, institutional and municipal entities and community activitics; to revise its definition to those containcd in Act 101; to increase the types 0 f materials that must be recycled (i.e., newsprint, stcel and bi-metalIic cans) and to conr()!'!1l its yard waste collection procedures to the requircmcnts of the 2 PaDEP's grant award under Section 904 is based upon the following formula: Base Award~Approved Residential Tonnage + Approved Commercial Tonnage x $S * Approved Tonnages arc less any residues. Approved commercial tonnage fix the base award cannot cxcecd thc approved residential tonnage. Bonus Award cc'Approved Residential Tonnage I Approvcd Commercial Tonnage x Municipality Rate x $1 * Approved Tonnagcs are less any residues. Approved commercial tonnage for the bonus award cannot excced the approved residential tonnage. A municipality's recycling rate is determined in this manner: Approved Residential + Approved Commercial Tonnage/(municipality's population x a,R) x 100 Where O.R tons/person/year is the average state-wide waste generation rate. Approved commercial tonnage for the Recycling Rate calculation cannot exceed the approved residential tonnage. Commerciallncentivec Documented Commercial Tonnage in excess of that approved for base and bonus award x 10 Total Award Base Award + Bonus Award -I Commercial Incentive Act. Moreover, yard wastc that is collcctcd throughout the yard should be segregated from municipal waste and should be deli vcree! to the borough's I,mdfill/composting t~lcility as opposcd to being delivered to a landfill f()t. disposal. This would reduce the disposal tec~.; incurred by the borough and increase the borough's recycling rate J()!' purposes of its Section 904 Crant. 2) Thc borough's publieinI()Jmation and education program covering its recycling program features and requirements should be enhanced. Act 101 requires that at a minimum of once every six months, a municipality must notify all persons occupying residential) commercial, institutional and municipal premises under its boundaries of the requirements of its ordinance. This could be accomplished by sending newslettcrs with surveys to cornmunity organizations, commercial institutional and rnunicipal entities as well as to all residences within the borough. Grant funding to assist in this eft()rt is probably availablc to the borough through an Act 101 Section 902 Grant. 3) Stricter enf()rcement efforts against rcsidcntial and non-residential persons who fail to comply with the borough's recycling requirements. a. have garbage collcction personnel leave warninglinfonnation messages at places where they observe violations ofthe borough's recycling ordinance. b. have rental property inspection program include checking fl.)!' recycling containers as part of rental property inspection program. 4) Recycling should be enforced at all community activities in thc borough. Grant funding t()r recycling containers is also available to the borough through an Act 101 Section 902 Grant. Long Term An independent third-party evaluation of the borough's recycling program should be undcrtakcn. This study should include an analysis of the borough's CLlrrent recycling program, an in.depth survey of all non-residential entities recycling procedurcs and a cost/benefit analysis ofthe potential of implemcnting single-stream recycling and/or a "pay-as-you-throw" program tor municipal waste collection in the borough. The study should also include an analysis of the borough's composting program at the old landfill site to include an cvaluation of an cstimatcd cost to bring the facility into compliance with the requircrnents of PaDEP f()r a municipal yard waste composting facility. 'I' , I ill (J!), i: ,! 1"I)! )! 1;,1 i i !) I,'! I ()! ! I i Ll !';]) , Ii 'l! 1!llll)\11111: I Iii! >/1 ;'l!' I";! ! I(JIl J' )'1'1 111'1 li'Jiljl'i!!il( 1 1 ~ i {; (l Ii \ n) I, T\ ' i: d, i] 1! I 111:11 :Iil!! JII',JiliJiil) II '1.1J{! 'I ~ ! ,I 11/i::-;11 ;j :Ii I. III Iii ,Ii iI! I, 1 k:II' I,'; {){ :i:d,/i;h :1 )/!I Iii /1" :' 1 i; i 1 (i r!); i ('() I) :!) 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