Staff would like to update City Council on recent changes to plastics recycling in Flagstaff, as well as seek direction on whether staff should move forward with designing a plan to implement volumetric pricing for trash and recycling service.

City Council has ambitious waste diversion goals outlined in the Rethink Waste Plan. One strategy to significantly increase waste diversion is to implement volumetric pricing. This program would create multiple trash cart size options for single-family residents and establish an incentive for residents to recycle more and waste less. Similar programs have been implemented across the country for decades with great success in promoting greater waste diversion and prevention. Before investing additional time in the planning and implementation of such a program, staff would like guidance from City Council regarding moving forward with additional research on volumetric pricing. 

In the City’s existing program, all single-family residents receive 90-gallon carts for trash and recycling. A volumetric pricing structure would create two smaller trash cart sizes at a tiered price structure less than the full-size cart. This would provide a financial incentive for residents to both reduce their waste generation and recycle more.
 
A volumetric pricing structure is a foundational element for cities with high diversion rates. Within Arizona, multiple cities, including Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson have adopted a similar approach to volumetric pricing for waste diversion. The decisions to do so have been directly tied to goals similar to those adopted in Flagstaff, such as reaching zero waste (90% diversion) by 2050.
 
Before moving forward with a volumetric pricing structure, there are several considerations to take into account. First, the timeline from the decision to move forward with a volumetric rate structure and the final implementation could be two to three years. In addition to procuring the necessary infrastructure, the City would conduct a robust outreach program with stakeholder meetings throughout the community to introduce the program to residents. With existing staffing levels, this alone could take up to a year. The rollout of the new carts will also likely be done in a phased approach, focusing one section of the community at a time, in order to ensure neighborhoods receive adequate outreach and education. Staff would also have to procure the carts necessary to offer multiple cart size options, which would have significant cost implications.

COUNCIL GOALS:
CLIMATE CHANGE: Take meaningful climate change action. Actively manage and protect all environmental and natural resources.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES: Actively manage and protect all environmental and natural resources.
• Further develop sustainability and waste removal policies and programs.
 
REGIONAL PLAN:
Policy E&C.1.4. Maintain air quality through pursuit of non-polluting industry and commercial enterprises.
Policy E&C.2.1. Encourage the reduction of all energy consumption, especially fossil-fuel generated energy, in public, commercial, industrial, and residential sectors.
Policy E.1.3. Empower all community members to make smarter energy choices through education and incentives.
Goals CD.1. Improve the City and County financial systems to provide for needed infrastructure development and rehabilitation, including maintenance and enhancement of existing infrastructure.
Goal PF.2. Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics.