Agenda - 04-25-2001-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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24 MEMORANDUM TO: John Link, County Manager FROM: Gayle Wilson; Solid Waste Management Director SUBJECT: Staff Assessment of Chapel Hill Proposal for Residential Pay-As-You-Throw Solid Waste Collection DATE: January 22, 2001 This memorandum provides observations and assessment of the Town of Chapel Hill's proposal regarding residential Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) in Chapel Hill. Background Solid Waste Staff and I have reviewed the report prepared by Chapel Hill Public Works Department staff regarding the possible implementation of a PAYT system for the single-family residential sector in Chapel Hill. They recommend avolume-based system based on purchase of tags to be affixed to garbage bags. They estimate the cost of such a program to be $0.50 to $0.60 per bag/tag for disposal only and up to $2.00 per bag/tag to cover the cost of collection and disposal using fees only, no tax revenues, unless there were a revenue shortfall from the fee system. The report suggests implementing the system at the completion of the shift to curbside waste collection, anticipated in spring 2002. The report recognizes that some of the reduction in solid waste will result from a shift of materials to recycling, an estimated 500 to .900 tons per year. This would be expected to cause increases in the volume for recycling programs at both the curb and drop-off sites. The resolution accompanying the report requests that the County advise the Town on what changes would be necessary in the current recycling program to accommodate more recycling tonnage and participation, given the Town's projected PAYT implementation timetable and what issues would need to be resolved to ensure the greatest chance of success. Orange County staff analysis of the current residential waste stream coupled with experience of others who have implemented PAYT in other regions where there was already a mature residential recycling program, leads to a conclusion that the Town could divert a range of 550 to 900 tons ($% to 13%) of additional recyclables from this sector. (That is a 1 percent to 1.5 percent reduction of total municipal solid waste currently landfilled from Orange County). According to 1999-2000 SCS' waste stream study, an estimated 2,000 tons of total potential recyclables now remain in Chapel Hill's residential waste stream, using the current recycling system. About half of that 2,000 tons is recyclable only at dropoff sites under the current recycling structure. Thus PAYT may impact dropoff as well as curbside recycling as citizens strive to minimize the amount they pay for disposing of.