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17 <br />Memorandum <br />To: Solid Waste Advisory Group <br />From: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Management Director <br />Subject: Update on Expansion of Rural Curbside Recycling <br />Date: March 30, 2016 <br />The expansion of rural curbside recycling to the additional 6,800 rural residences is scheduled for <br />summer 2016. In accord with the approved schedule, beginning in February program information has <br />been distributed to those residences and resident preferences were solicited. Upon completion in <br />April, all responses will be compiled and new carts and bins ordered upon BOCC approval. Cart <br />distribution is scheduled for July 2016 with collection to begin as soon as a residence receives its <br />requested recycling receptacle. <br />The required new collection truck has been ordered and will be ready to roll in early April. A driver has <br />been hired and will soon begin training on the new routes. The Radio Frequency Identification 'chip' <br />embedded in the carts distributed in the rural areas will be utilized following the expansion to allow <br />tracking of the $600,000 in county inventory. This technology will also allow insight into participation, <br />although since, not all rural households are being issued a cart, we cannot effectively track overall <br />participation and set out rates. <br />A large -scale re- routing for all 22,000 eligible rural curbside recycling customers is being completed in <br />conjunction with the expansion that will affect most of the residences along the.existing ten rural <br />routes. Some that may have had the same collection day for twenty years since rural curbside began will <br />experience a change in their collection schedule. Those changes will be publicized through the annual <br />calendar card mailing to all residences, the annual Waste Matters newsletter, the Orange County Solid <br />Waste and Recycling e- newsletter and other means to minimize confusion and maximize collection <br />efficiency. <br />At the end of January 2016, Orange County Solid Waste mailed requests to the approximately 6,800 <br />rural area households in the parts of the County that currently do not have access to curbside recycling <br />services. As of March 11, approximately 2,500 replies have been received. Approximately 900 pieces of <br />mail were returned to sender for a variety of reasons. Hence about one -half of the eligible households <br />have either replied or mailed request was undeliverable. We are seeking other ways to contact those at <br />locations where mail was undeliverable. <br />