TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Sona Coffee, Environmental Programs Manager
Anna Luke-Jones, Public Works Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Food Waste Recycling Program Update (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
RECEIVE AND FILE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file this report which provides an update on Waste Management’s Food Waste Recycling Program.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report serves as an update on the first year of the City’s Food Waste Recycling Program. The citywide commercial food waste program has a current total of 61 active participants with weekly collection. From August 2015 - September 2016, the commercial program has recycled 1,212,960.00 pounds of food waste. The residential program requires residents to either place bagged food waste in the green cart or to request an 18 gallon food waste cart from Waste Management for curbside collection. From September 2015 - September 2016, the residential program has recycled 18,640.00 pounds of food waste. Attachments 1 and 2 provide an overview and sample of the outreach performed to support this program for its first year.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
In June 2011, the City of Manhattan Beach entered into a new franchise agreement with refuse hauler Waste Management. The input received from the community through the City’s Environmental Task Force (ETF) resulted in the development of zero waste goals and a desire for a citywide food waste program. The agreement included a six-month food waste recycling pilot program to complement the existing backyard composting program, which included free backyard composting classes and discount bins.
The pilot program included over 700 residential homes and, by the end of the pilot, over 20 businesses. Waste Management extended their pilot program, running from July 2012 through August 2015, to accommodate the launch of their CORe industrial food waste recycling facility. The CORe facility converts any food scrap -- even meats, dairy and fatty, oily foods -- into an Engineered BioSlurry, which can be utilized in an anaerobic digester and converted to energy.
The Food Recovery Hierarchy Model (see Attachment 3) from the Environmental Protection Agency illustrates the most to least preferred methods of dealing with food waste, and shows that Source Reduction (not generating waste) is the most preferred approach. However, Industrial Uses, such as what the CORe facility utilizes, are preferred over traditional Composting.
In September 2014, Governor Brown signed into law AB1826, which establishes a series of organics recycling requirements for commercial businesses, some family dwellings, and possibly residents in California. Organics is defined as food and green waste (yard) materials. Under AB 1826, California cities are required to provide organic waste (food and yard) recycling services by January 1, 2016, to support a multi-year set of organics recycling participation. To prepare for initial compliance with AB1826, the City Council approved the food waste program at its July 7, 2015 meeting (the City already has an established yard waste recycling program). The City went through the Proposition 218 process and a fee increase was made to residential and commercial refuse bills. The commercial program began on August 1, 2015 and the residential program began on September 1, 2015.
DISCUSSION:
It is estimated that 40% of all the food produced in the United States goes uneaten. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 33 million tons of food makes its way to landfills each year. The City of Manhattan Beach’s effort to reduce food waste from entering the landfill is very important. These efforts are performed through source reduction (not producing waste) and the curbside food waste recycling program. This staff report serves as a status report on the food waste recycling program, and will review the program evaluation: what worked and what needs improvement, pounds of food waste recycled, and the next steps.
Program Evaluation
In evaluating the first year of the food waste program, it’s best to acknowledge what worked and what could be improved. The food waste recycling program is a citywide effort to reduce waste that is sent to the landfill, and offers the City a way to turn that waste into a usable form of energy.
What Worked: Citywide Commercial
So far, the key to successful commercial participation is consistent training performed by Waste Management (WM) for the commercial properties’ staff. Due to the nature of commercial businesses, and especially food-service establishments, staff turnover is to be expected. WM staff performs the following at each commercial participant:
- Performs “kick-off” training.
- Provides posters, signage, and other training materials as needed.
- Establishes the “stations” or locations with management or janitorial staff where the internal cans will be located (break room, kitchen, cafeteria, etc.).
- Walks management, staff, and any third-party contractors (i.e. janitorial staff) through the process flow so that the program steps are understood and seem attainable by the staff.
- Follows up with all participating locations periodically to see if any staffing changes have taken place and to make sure service levels are appropriate.
- Returns to location for additional staff training when new staff has joined (especially janitorial) or if the business requests refresher training.
Although three different options are available to businesses (2 yard bin, carts, and bags), the vast majority of participants prefer to use carts. Even the large food waste establishments like Bristol Farms, Trader Joes, and the Marriott Hotel prefer carts over a 2 yard bin because they can customize “stations” for food waste recycling and change the station locations as needed. This saves them a step as they fill the carts directly then swap when full, rather than transfer bags from smaller containers to the carts.
What Worked: Citywide Residential
The residential programs advantage is its simplicity and ease of use. Residents do not have to sort or decipher what is accepted in the food waste program - all food scraps are accepted (including meat, dairy, and fatty/oily foods). It’s a quick 3 step program:
1. Put food scraps in a bag.
2. Tie the bag.
3. Place the bag in the green waste cart.
For residents without the space for a green waste cart (i.e.: Sand Section), an optional 18-gallon food waste cart could be requested from Waste Management.
Some residents have shared their comments with the City. One resident said, “We are very happy with the food waste program. It works like a charm and our home now has very little trash.” Another resident said, “Wanted to tell you how much our family loves having the food recycling program! We fill up a bag a day. Find that it is much more useful to be able to put all of our table scraps, bones and all into the bags and recycle. Thank you for this program!!!”
What Needs Improvement: Citywide Commercial & Residential
With any new program, the ever-present need is outreach and education. Food waste recycling is a paradigm shift for many. As with glass, paper, metal, and plastic, recycling materials must become a habit to be successful. With consistency and time, recycling items like glass bottles and aluminum cans has become second nature. Staff is confident that the community will embrace participation of this program as outreach continues and food waste recycling becomes an accepted practice.
Pounds Recycled
By recycling food waste, it is being diverted from the landfill. The following subsections provide the number of pounds of food waste recycled in each of the main phases of the program: Comprehensive, Pilot, Citywide Commercial and Citywide Residential.
Comprehensive: Pilot - Citywide (July 2012 - September 2016)
Throughout the entire duration of the food waste program (pilot phase to citywide roll-out), a total of 8,544,640 pounds of food waste in Manhattan Beach has been diverted from the landfill. 8,544,640 pounds of food is equal to 190 tractor trailer loads (semi-trucks) of food.
Pilot
By the completion of the City’s pilot program with Waste Management (July 2012 - August 2015), 25 businesses were participating and outreach and materials were supplied to over 700 homes which already had a green waste cart. Over this time period, the pilot program recycled, and therefore diverted from the landfill, a total of 6,100,080.00 pounds of food waste. Of that total, the residential sector recycled 89,280.00 pounds of food waste and the commercial sector recycled 3,005,400.00 pounds of food waste.
Citywide Commercial
The citywide commercial food waste program has a current total of 61 active participants with weekly collection. From August 2015 - September 2016, the commercial program has recycled 1,212,960.00 pounds of food waste.
Citywide Residential
The residential program allows residents to either place bagged food waste in the green cart or to request an 18 gallon food waste cart from Waste Management for curbside collection. Although the program is not currently required as part of AB 1826, residential food waste recycling assists with the city’s AB 939 recycling goals. From September 2015 - September 2016, the residential program has recycled 18,640.00 pounds of food waste.
Looking Ahead: Compliance with Multi-Tier Program
A main focus looking ahead is ensuring participation of businesses who fall under the tiered requirements under AB 1826. The first two tiers are explained below:
Tier 1
There are currently 18 commercial businesses that fall into the Tier 1 category (produce 8 cubic yards of organics weekly). The deadline for Tier 1 businesses to begin participation was January 1, 2016. Most of the businesses have been quick to comply and get their programs started. There are a small handful of businesses that Waste Management has been working with who have had challenges getting their program started. The reasons range from spatial constraints to the timing of phasing in organics recycling with larger organizational changes and coordinating with national-chain corporate solid waste managers. City Staff and Waste Management are working together to help the businesses achieve success under AB 1826.
Tier 2
There are currently 30 commercial businesses who fall into the Tier 2 category (produce 4 cubic yards of organics weekly). Waste Management has already visited all the Tier 2 businesses, and some have received multiple visits already. The deadline for Tier 2 businesses to begin participation is January 1, 2017. Almost half of the Tier 2 businesses are already participating.
Moving forward, City Staff and Waste Management will continue to perform routine site visits to all commercial businesses that are required to comply with AB 1826.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Waste Management has provided consistent, ongoing public outreach on this program to both the commercial and residential sector. Attachment 1 of this report highlights many of the outreach efforts made to support the first year of the food waste program. Attachment 2 is a sample of select outreach materials for reference.
Waste Management has performed outreach for this program through personal visits and training, printed materials, multiple digital media, and email and phone customer service.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the project was covered in previously adopted Staff Report upon program approval.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachment/Attachments:
1. Food Waste Recycling Public Outreach
2. Samples of Select Outreach
3. EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy Model