City of
Sustainability
Advisory Board (SAB)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Jae Chang (leave of absence) |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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GUESTS PRESENT: |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Carey Maynard-Moody, Matt Lehrman |
ANNOUN
None.
Approval
of meeting Minutes
Copies of the minutes from
Discussion with Kevin Doyle,
Infrastructure and Development Coordinator, regarding energy initiatives
Kevin Doyle updated the board on various energy initiatives
in the City, including progress on: Facilities Conservation Improvement Program
(FCIP), Sierra Club Cool Cities Campaign, Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED), and EPA Green Power Community Campaign.
Facilities
Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP). Kevin Doyle mentioned that City Hall was built in 1980 and
an energy audit was completed in 1993.
Sierra Club Cool
Cities Campaign.
Kevin informed SAB that the Lawrence Mayor signed the U.S. Mayor’s Climate
Protection Agreement in March 2006 and directed staff to establish a baseline
and come up with a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED). Kevin has no update on when the future Public Library
building discussion will be. Kevin mentioned that although the City values LEED
as high priority it is not a definite with the new reclamation facility.
£ Action: Invite Dave Wagner to future SAB
meeting to talk about LEED certification for the new reclamation facility.
EPA Green Power
Community. Kevin
informed SAB that he is planning an expanded Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL)
campaign in conjunction with the Home Energy Conservation Fair in October.
Discussion with Bob Yoos, Solid
Waste Division Manager, regarding questions previously submitted by the Sustainability
Advisory Board
£ Action: Tammy will e-mail the SAB members
the Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) study from 1996.
£ Action: Laura will e-mail a copy of a
registration form she has used for registering recycling businesses.
Home Energy Conservation Fair
(HECF)
The HECF has become a very large event. Originally conceived and implemented by the
Recycling and Resource Conservation Advisory Board volunteers, most of the
organizational functions have transferred to staff over time. This year, staff is unable to accomplish this
project without assistance of some kind.
The WRR division is down 2 full-time employees and all other employees
are new in their assigned jobs. Tammy Bennett
asked the SAB members for assistance for this year’s program.
Some of the board members agreed to assist with the program
this year. However, it was strongly
expressed that the boards intention is for this program to be a regularly
budgeted and staffed event within City government (either WRR or Kevin Doyle,
etc.).
Waste Reduction and Recycling
Report – Staff
Printed copy of the monthly updates provided to SAB.
Miscellaneous and Guest Comments
None.
Agenda items:
- Next meeting:
- Home Energy Conservation Fair
(primary focus of meeting)
- Future meetings
- LEED certification and City
facilities, requesting Dave Wagner, Director of Utilities, to discussion
status of LEED certification for both the Water Reclamation Facility and
the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Green Campaign (Marie
Stockett)
Meeting
adjourned
Attachments:
- Memo, Kevin Doyle
- Summary of answers provided by
- Waste Reduction and Recycling
Division report
Memorandum
City of
City
Manager’s Office
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TO: |
David L. Corliss,
City Manager |
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FROM: |
Kevin Doyle, PE Infrastructure
& Development Coordinator |
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CC: |
Tammy Bennett, |
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Date: |
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RE: |
Green Power
Partnership / Green Power Community Campaign |
Please include the following item
on the consent agenda for the
Authorize the
Mayor to sign the EPA Green Power Partnership Agreement and launch a Green
Power Community Campaign in conjunction with Earth Day,
Project Description: The Green Power Partnership is an EPA program designed to
encourage the use of renewable energy (see attached brochure). The Green Power Community Program is an
extension of the Green Power Partnership designed to encourage community wide
support and use of renewable energy (see attached overview).
The Partnership Agreement (see
attached Agreement)
includes three basic requirements:
- Purchase green power (renewable energy credits or
Green Tags1) based on Partnership requirements (3% of municipal
operations – completed, Fall 2006);
- Report on green power purchasing activities annually;
- Use the Green Power Partner mark appropriately.
As a Green Power Partner, the City
receives formal recognition from the EPA and is allowed to publicize its
participation in the program and use its Green Power Partner status for
purposes that include: economic
development, public outreach, personnel recruiting, etc.
The Community Program is an
extension of the basic Partnership that provides additional recognition once
city-wide use of green power reaches some minimum level (2% for communities
that exceed 100,000 MWh annually).
Currently, there are less than 10
Green Power Communities in the country, and staff would like to see City of
Project History: On
Project Funding:
Funding for the 2006 Green Tag purchase ($8,690) was split equally between Utilities,
Sanitation, and General Fund Overhead.
The Green Power Partnership Agreement has no additional funding
requirements. Future Green Tag purchase
recommendations will be presented to the City Commission for its consideration
at that time.
Initially, the Green Power
Community Campaign is intended to utilize existing municipal functions,
principally activities put on by the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division
including Earth Day and the Home Energy Fair.
In addition, information regarding the campaign will be posted on city
web sites and included in regular City press releases.
At this time, no additional funding
is requested. If future initiatives
require additional funding, a memo outlining the initiative and defining the
funding requirements will be presented to the City Commission for its consideration
at that time.
Staff
Recommendation:
Authorize
the Mayor to sign the EPA Green Power Partnership Agreement and launch a Green
Power Community Campaign in conjunction with Earth Day,
SAB Questions (03/07)
- To generate better recycling
data, will the city consider conducting a waste sort of residential waste
streams, and/or pursue more comprehensive planning efforts which provide
data on population, demographics, waste generation trends and disposal
capacity? (Bob indicated that he is
working internally on waste stream and population analysis.)
We are always looking at data
related to these variables. We will
utilize EPA data to adjust local generation rates based on population and
provide those to SAB. Based on past experience
and knowledge of waste stream characterizations, we do not expect to see a
great change in the proportions of different recyclable materials generated.
- Will the city consider
surveying residents as to their usage of current options, and interest in
curbside recycling?
Yes. In fact, the Division has submitted a request
for a professionally conducted survey as part of the 2008 budget process.
- Targeted materials collected
by drop-off programs presume, among other things, transportation, storage
space and physical ability. What
can the city do to accommodate those residents without cars, storage room
or the physical strength/capacity to recycle?
The extent to which this is a
problem is unknown. It is likely that
friends and relatives provide assistance related to many life activities to
those without cars or physical abilities who cannot otherwise afford to pay for
assistance. The vast majority of
residents have a means to have their trash out on trash day (we currently serve
about 95 “hardship” cases citywide for trash).
- Will the city pursue surveying
as a method of assessing participation?
This question could be included in
the survey of residents
- Can/will the city quantify the
total number of residents currently participating in curbside? (The last estimate was ~400.)
We can if each of the curbside
providers will provide that to us to use as a total (not reveal individual
business customer counts).
- Can the city verify tonnages
collected curbside? If the city
cannot generate this number now, can this data requirement be part of any
future licensure process?
No.
The curbside providers take their recyclables to either city drop-offs
or private drop-offs. None of these have
a way of weighing incoming recyclables.
We know of no recycling facility or MRF that weighs incoming
recyclables. Tonnages are usually
determined at the moment of shipment to a broker, or by the broker upon receipt
of the recyclables. Since curbside providers
are using local outlets for their collected materials, the tonnages are
accurately captured. What is not
captured precisely is the tonnage numbers for curbside collectors versus
individual recyclers.
- Through the proposed hauler
“registration” process, what specific protections can we provide to ensure
that haulers manage materials appropriately? (It is noted the city already has
generic authority through city code to license both recycling vendors and
recycling centers. Litter, unlawful
disposal and nuisance conditions were discussed.)
Curbside recyclers will provide us with
information on what they will do with the recyclables (where will they go?) as
part of the registration process.
Recycling centers provide us with annual reports on materials and
tonnages recycled.
- Planned marketing was
described to support current curbside businesses; what is the theme of
these media messages? (Inserts were
discussed.) What is the timeline
for their release? Has input been
solicited from haulers (this was suggested)?
Specific print media ads will focus
on curbside providers. Other media
messages will identify curbside providers and locations of drop-off facilities
and other recycling venues within the community. Media include newspapers, radio ads,
pamphlets and utility bill inserts.
Specific ads for curbside providers have not yet been developed as we
have not yet received input from haulers.
The other media are currently being utilized.
- What was the legal services
department response regarding franchise areas?
The question on franchising by
areas has been referred to the City’s legal staff. This may be an area where it is better to
wait until the survey is completed and the direction of the program, if changes
were to be made, is more clearly understood.
This is similar to the agreement to delay consideration of containers to
be used by curbside providers.
- In regard to staff’s updating
of the 2004 feasibility study for a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF),
will this assessment consider public-private partnerships or a larger
waste shed than Lawrence? Does the
city believe that
Serving a larger waste shed would
necessitate agreements between various local units of government. It would be difficult to achieve meaningful
economies of scale because
- In regard to Neighborhood
Centered Comprehensive Recycling Drop-ff Centers, can the city provide a
map of current locations, and has an assessment been done to address
underserved areas?
- In regard for additional drop boxes for
mixed paper, how many boxes will be placed? When?
We will start with a pilot location
(hopefully Hy-Vee on
- In regard to Pay As You Throw
(PAYT), is the staff’s most recent response the City’s final answer on
PAYT? What formal assessment has
been done to justify this? Many
larger cities have alleyway collection and multi-family dwellings. Has research been done to look at how
cities comparable to
Implementation of PAYT would be a
policy decision. We looked extensively
at PAYT systems in use throughout the
- Will the City consider
conducting formal research (or hiring a consultant to further research
this option) before dismissing PAYT?
The professional staff of the Solid
Waste Division is continuously reviewing current systems and other communities
systems to provide the best services we can for the citizens of
- Has an assessment been
conducted on the viability of PAYT if implemented just
for residential
single family dwellings and or dwellings with less than 4 units?
This is a
common model for university towns.
This has been looked at. Of the 37,037 housing units in
- What recent action has the
City taken to promote a bottle bill?
(This is a topic included on the City legislative wish list, to no
avail thus far.)
We are not aware of any recent
action other than the legislative wish list.
This would be a good issue for SAB to present to the City
Commission. The Solid Waste Division
would support this whole heartedly.
Waste
Reduction & Recycling Division - Update for April 2007
Waste Reduction and Recycling Division Update
April was a busy month for WRRD with
the Imagination & Place Environmental Awards on April 18th and
Earth Day Parade for the Earth and Celebration at the Park on April 21st.
With the approval of the City Manager,
WRRD converted a vacant Specialist position to a Field Supervisor for Fibers
Program, including fibers collection and processing operations. The new
position was open for internal applicants only. Interviews were held April 27th
and 30th. The City of
Fibers Report
Old Corrugated Containers (OCC)
Cardboard Tons Revenue
Current YTD 346.92 $38,998.05
Prior YTD 294.72 $19,236.50
Avg. Price/ton thru Apr. 2007: $112.41 Avg.
Price/ton thru Apr 2006: $ 65.27
Old Newspapers (ONP)
Newspaper Tons Revenue
Current YTD 325.79 $31,113.75
Prior YTD 310.26 $24,046.35
Avg. Price/ton thru Apr. 2007: $95.50 Avg. Price/ton thru Apr 2006: $
77.51
Office Waste Paper (SOP)
Sorted Office Paper Tons Revenue
Current YTD none $ n/a
Prior YTD 10.08 $ 609.84
Avg. Price/ton thru Mar. 2007: $n/a Avg. Price/ton thru apr 2006: $ 60.50
(we are holding
for full load)
Old Magazines (OMG)
Magazines Tons Revenue
Current YTD .63 $40.63
Prior YTD 0 $0
Avg. Price/ton thru Mar. 2007: $ Avg. Price/ton thru Mar 2006: $
TOTAL ytd tons Revenue
673.34 $70,152.43
Prior YTD 615.06 $43,892.69
- Will be piloting new Mixed Waste Paper bin- 2 Bins are built and still need to be stenciled. We have permission to place one in location at HyVee on 6th (2nd bin will be a replacement bin).
Yard Trimmings Collection & Compost Program
Report
Yard Trimmings collection: Year to
date
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January |
February |
March |
April |
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Total Tons collected
curbside |
21.45 |
NA |
1114.98 |
1413.36 |
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Commercial YW
received |
2.00 |
1.80 |
29.00 |
data forthcoming |
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Other YW received |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
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Total tons this
month |
23.45 |
1.80 |
1143.98 |
1413.36 |
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Average Preferred
Container Compliance |
100% |
NA |
98% |
99% |
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program Report
Outreach and Education
April 3 and April 5: SWAN tour and outreach – KU Speech,
Language and Hearing Play groups (Jennifer Knell – 913-485-7959. jknell@ku.edu) April 3: 4pm-5pm, approx. five kids 4-6 yr olds, 5pm-6pm, approx.
six kids fm. 7-9 years old. April 5:
1)
tour
2) relay game in warehouse 3) worms! 4)memory game 5)story book-“Why Should I
Recycle?”
Worms were most popular, some lost interest in memory game –
too long. We gave them color books,
tattoos, battery bags. Teachers commented that kids had fun at this play date
and that they thought it was cool that the kids actually learned something!
April 18: Imagination & Place
Environmental Award ceremony took place in conjunction with the Community
Mercantile’s Annual Earth Day Forum, featuring remarks by Dan Nagengast,
director of the Kansas
Rural Center Lawrence Lawrence photographer Rick Mitchell
at a ceremony at the Lawrence
Arts Center
The I&P Environmental
Award is designed to recognize Douglas County community members who have made a
demonstrable and positive impact on the local, regional, and/or global
environment. The awards honor one of the following categories (in a four-year
cycle): businesses, educators, artists and outstanding volunteers. Specially
commissioned artworks constitute the awards themselves. The inspiration for the
award comes from the idea of giving something beautiful for something
beautifully done.
April 21: On
The day began with over 200 participants assembling at
Left:
Representatives from the City’s Sustainability Advisory Board lead the
parade carrying the Parade for the Earth
banner. Right: Children from the Montessori Children’s School walk and roll in
the parade.
The
parade emptied into the east side of
Left to right:
Kevin Doyle, Infrastructure and Development Coordinator for the City
made the announcement that Lawrence has become an EPA Green Power Partner and
accepted the Certificate of Partnership on behalf of Mayor Sue Hack from EPA
Region 7 Representative and Pollution Prevention Expert, Chet McLaughlin.