Review Status of the City's Curbside Recycling Contract

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.

The City is currently in year four (4) of a five (5) year contract with ACE Solid Waste for curbside collection of recyclable materials. The current contract will expire on December 31, 2017. Please note that the current discussion focuses on the City's organized curbside recycling contract. The current discussion does not contemplate extending the organized collection into solid waste disposal.

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

1. Enter into negotiations with the current service provider on a new curbside contract.
2. Prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) for competitive bids for curbside collection of recyclables.
3. Migrate to an open hauling system where any licensed hauler could provide recycling service to a customer.

Staff would note that there are several advantages to operating with a contracted service including:

• 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 to service 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, exceptions are for the couple apartment complexes).
• More efficient from a promotion and marketing perspective (oftentimes, haulers have slightly different standards for acceptable materials and thus, in an open hauling system, promotion and marketing is more generalized).
• 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. Two exceptions to this, at least within the County, are Andover and Coon Rapids. However, it is worth noting that both of those communities have a drop off recycling center available for their residents throughout the year (and in the case of Coon Rapids, 1.5 FTE positions dedicated entirely to their recycling program). Participation rates and tonnage are key factors in this discussion considering that the State's current Solid Waste Management Policy Plan calls for a goal of 54-60% of the total municipal solid waste get recycled (for reference, in 2010, 40% of the municipal solid waste was recycled) and up to 75% by 2030.

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 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 detailed monthly tonnage reports to the City.  It would also likely increase staff time on administrative tasks and educational awareness.

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 2016 is $61,000.00. Additionally, the Anoka County Board of Commissioners also sets a tonnage goal for each community (based on 195 pounds per person per year per single family home and 170 pounds per person per year for multifamily buildings of five [5] units or more) and Ramsey's current goal is set at 2,399 tons. Ramsey has now achieved its recycling goal for twelve (12) consecutive years.

The City has had a contract with ACE Solid Waste since approximately 1998. ACE Solid Waste calls Ramsey home and has provided good service over the course of almost twenty (20) years. The City and ACE continue to have a good working relationship and ACE continues to be actively engaged in the community. However, it should be noted that ACE Solid Waste is no longer locally owned; Waste Connections Inc., headquartered in Texas, purchased ACE late in 2013. But, ACE continues to provide great service. There were some initial customer complaints submitted to City Staff during the transition in ownership and conversion to a new software system (mostly due to long wait times on the phone and lack of returned calls), but it appears that these issues have been resolved.

Section 4.5 of the City's Purchasing Policy states that an RFP will generally be used to solicit proposals for professional services every three (3) years (unless specifically extended by City Council) .  It should be noted though that cities are not required to follow the competitive bidding process (RFPs) for professional services. 

The EPB reviewed this topic at their June and July meetings.  As part of their initial review in June, the EPB requested that goals of the recycling program be developed to assist in their decision making process.  These goals were reviewed and approved by the EPB at their July meeting (attached).  The consensus of the EPB was that the City should continue the recycling program through a contracted service, and after some discussion, the EPB recommended that the City initiate negotiations with its current hauler on a new contract as they have provided good service and are based in Ramsey.

30 minutes

Funding for the administration of the City's curbside recycling program is provided through the State of Minnesota's Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment (SCORE). With the current contract, the City pays the hauler a monthly fee ($2.95 per household) and then collects that charge on a quarterly basis through the City's utility billing ($8.85 per quarter).

City Planner Chris Anderson

Provide direction to Staff on the future status of the recycling program in terms of continuing it as a contracted service or moving to an open hauling system and, if it is to continue as a contracted service, whether to directly negotiate with the current hauler or to prepare an RFP for City Council consideration.