Provide Direction on Curbside Recycling Program

The City is currently in the final year of a three (3) year contract with ACE Solid Waste for curbside collection of recyclable materials. The current contract will expire on December 31, 2020. Please note that this case and discussion focuses on the City's current organized curbside recycling contract. The current discussion does not contemplate extending the organized collection into solid waste disposal (garbage).

The purpose of this case is to begin discussions on policy direction before the current contract expires. There are essentially three (3) options that could be considered by the City:

1. Enter into negotiations with the current service provider to extend or renew the contract.
2. Prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) for competitive bids for curbside collection of recyclables.
3. Migrate to an open hauling system that would not include management and oversight by the City, but would still involve licensing of haulers, reporting to Anoka County, and education efforts.

State Statute (Chapter 115A Waste Management) requires that residents, including both single family and multifamily residences, have the opportunity to recycle. The City has historically satisfied this requirement with a contract for curbside collection of residentially generated recyclables. The current contract specifically addresses all town homes as well as single family residential homes. Note that apartment complexes and the manufactured home park are treated as commercial accounts and are not part of the current contract.

There are several advantages to operating with a contracted service:

• Participation rates are typically higher than in an open hauling system (currently, Ramsey's participation rate is at 90%).
• Generally decreases the number of trucks that would be on a street on collection day (depending on what services a hauler offers, there could be up to four [4] trucks servicing one address: garbage, recycling, yard waste, and organics), reducing both traffic volumes and wear and tear on residential streets.
• More efficient from an administrative and reporting perspective (generally only one hauler submitting tonnage reports, with the exception of the apartment complexes).
• More efficient from a promotion and marketing perspective (oftentimes, haulers have slightly different standards for accepted materials and thus, in an open hauling system, promotion and marketing is more generalized). This is even more critical now with the current downward trend of commodity values and the need to ensure clean recycling.
• Opportunity for the City to implement various standards/requirements such as providing labor and equipment for recycling events and assistance with program promotion and education.

Historically, communities that provide recycling service through a contract generally have higher participation rates and greater quantities of materials recycled compared to communities that operate in an open hauling system. One exception to this may be when a community has a year-round recycling center available for residents, such as those facilities operated by the cities of Andover and Coon Rapids.

One drawback to providing recycling service through a contract that has come up occasionally is that every household is billed for recycling (presently, $2.85 per month), whether they participate in the program or not.  It is considered a utility, much like the priority street light charge and stormwater management charge, all three of these are charged to every household in the city.

Should the City move to an open hauling system, this would provide more flexibility for property owners to select their own recycling service provider. This would, however, require various ordinance amendments related specifically to the licensing requirements. Most notably, City Code would need to be amended to specify licensed haulers offering garbage service must also offer recycling service and that each licensed hauler shall provide monthly tonnage reports to the City.  This would also likely lead to increased traffic volumes on collection days and possibly more wear and tear on roads as well.

As a reminder, the City's recycling program is funded through the Select Committee On Recycling and the Environment (SCORE). Each community in Anoka County receives a base of $10,000.00 plus another $5.00 per household and has the ability to apply for additional enhancement funds to make improvements to their recycling program. Ramsey's allocation for 2020 is $77,566.00. Additionally, the Anoka County Board of Commissioners also sets a tonnage goal for each community (based on 215 pounds per person per year per single family home and 160 pounds per person per year for multifamily buildings of five [5] units or more) and Ramsey's current goal is set at 2,840 tons. Ramsey has now achieved its recycling goal for sixteen(16) consecutive years.

The City has had a contract with ACE Solid Waste since approximately 1996. ACE Solid Waste calls Ramsey home and has provided good service for over twenty (20) years. The City and ACE continue to have a good working relationship. While ACE Solid Waste is headquartered in Ramsey, its parent company, Waste Connections Inc. (purchased in 2013), is headquartered in Texas.

ACE Solid Waste continues to provide dependable service and is investing in the community. In 2019, ACE Solid Waste initiated a $2,000,000 building expansion on their property to improve their overall waste management operations. This expansion has created potential new opportunities as well, including a 'convenience center' for customer drop-off opportunities and the possibility of hosting recycling day events at ACE's site in the future.

EPB Recommendation
The Environmental Policy Board (EPB) reviewed this topic at their March meeting.  There was consensus to attempt to negotiate either an extension or new contract with ACE Solid Waste.  As part of this discussion, the EPB noted the program seems to be working well and that ACE is headquartered right here in Ramsey.  The EPB was not supportive of converting to an open hauling system. 

15 minutes

Staff is handling this case as part of its normal recycling duties, which is covered through SCORE funds.

City Planner

Provide Staff direction on preferred method to manage curbside recycling program prior to expiration of current contract.