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City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 The City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan 2014-2022 Rain gardens in El Cerrito along the San Pablo Avenue corridor capture trash before it can enter storm drains. Elementary school students assess and remove trash from Cerrito Creek hot spot. Prepared on January 30, 2014 and Submitted to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region on February 3, 2014 in compliance with Provision C.10 of the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 1 Contents 1. Introduction by the Contra Costa Clean Water Program 2 A. Trash Sources, Pathways, and Loadings 2 B. Background for this 2 C. Framework for Long-Term Trash Management 3 D. Identifying High-Trash Areas 3 E. Trash Management Strategy 4 F. Assessing Effectiveness 4 2. City of El Cerrito Trash Management Overview 4 A. Characteristics Affecting Trash Generation and Management 4 B. Drainage System and Water Resources Affected by Trash 5 C. Trash Problems and Priorities 5 3. City of El Cerrito Trash Management Strategy 6 A. Delineation of Trash Management Areas 8 B. Area-Specific Control Measures, Implementation Schedules, and Effectiveness Assessment 9 C. Creek and Shoreline Cleanups 9 D. Trash Reduction Policies 9 E. Public Education, Outreach, and Community Involvement 10 F. Jurisdiction-wide Progress Assessment and Continuous Improvement 11 4. References 13 Figures 1-1 Trash Sources and Transport Pathways Tables 2-1 2010 Census Data 2-2 2005 Land Uses (ABAG) 2-3 Trash Generation Category Percentages by Land Use 3-1 Trash Generation Categories by Trash Management Area 3-2 Creek and Shoreline Hot Spot Cleanups Attachments 1 Map of El Cerrito showing Trash Generation Rates 2 Map of El Cerrito showing Trash Management Areas 3 Map of El Cerrito showing Full Trash Capture Device Treatment Areas 4 Trash Management Plans by Trash Management Area ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 2 1. Introduction by the Contra Costa Clean Water Program The City of El Cerrito and other Contra Costa municipalities have prepared Long-Term Trash Reduction Plans (Plans) in compliance with Provision C.10.c. of the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit1 (MRP). Each municipal plan describes control measures designed to attain a 70% trash load reduction by July 1, 2017 and a 100% reduction by July 1, 2022. A. Trash Sources, Pathways, and Loadings Figure 1 illustrates sources and pathways of trash that enters the region’s creeks and San Francisco Bay. Trash has multiple sources—all of which are episodic and widely dispersed. In Figure 1, Stormwater Conveyances is highlighted because only this pathway is subject to MRP trash- reduction requirements. In reality, the other pathways are equally significant, depending on time and location. In practical terms, the pathways are intertwined. For example, on-land clean-ups reduce trash entering storm drains and also reduce wind-blown trash. When visible trash is reduced, litter and dumping from all sources tends to become less frequent and severe. Figure 1. Trash sources and transport pathways. Municipalities must balance their commitment to MRP compliance with their commitment to preserving and enhancing local environmental quality and quality of life for their residents. That is, municipalities seek to reduce trash on local streets and roads, and to reduce the total amount of trash in their creeks and on their shorelines—in addition to fulfilling the Water Board’s mandate to eliminate trash that flows through storm drains. For these reasons, Contra Costa municipalities address trash holistically and comprehensively, integrating a variety of strategies, and uses a variety of methods to assess the success of those strategies. B. Background for this Plan MRP Provision C.10 requires the Permittees to reduce trash loads from their storm drains by 40% by 2014, 70% by 2017, and 100% by 2022. Provision C.10.a.ii. Required each Permittee to determine a baseline trash load and a method for tracking reductions in trash loads. Working collectively through the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA)—and in close collaboration with 1 Order R2-2009-0074, issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region, became effective on December 1, 2009 and applies to 76 cities, towns, counties, and flood control districts. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 3 Water Board staff—the Permittees developed methods, including a calculator, for tracking loads and load reductions. The Permittees used these methods to develop Short-Term Trash Load Reduction Plans by February 1, 2012, and are implementing those plans through July 1, 2014 to achieve the 40% reduction. Progress has been documented in the Permittees’ 2012 and 2013 Annual Reports. Following their review of the Short- Term Plans, Water Board staff requested Permittees to change the methods used to evaluate trash load reductions. Working collectively through BASMAA—and again in close collaboration with Water Board staff—the Permittees developed the framework and planning tools to be used in the Permittees Long- Term Plans. C. Framework for Long-Term Trash Management The following 8-step framework for long-term trash management was developed in coordination with the Water Board2: 1. Identify high, medium, and low trash generation areas, based on land use and other geographic data, local knowledge, and field verification. 2. Attempt to identify sources in high and medium trash generation areas to assist in focusing control measures. 3. Prioritize areas and problems/types. 4. Identify options (tools) for dealing with prioritized areas/problems. 5. Define success/goals and measurement type. 6. Select and implement tools. 7. Evaluate success. 8. Modify as needed. Steps 5 and 7 of this framework acknowledge fundamental challenges presented by Provision C.10—how to define and evaluate success. D. Identifying High-Trash Areas To implement the first step of the framework—to identify high, medium, and low trash-generation areas—the Permittees collectively, through BASMAA, developed and calibrated a predictive model of trash generation.3 Model variables are designated land use and 2010 median household income; the model was calibrated based on trash collected in full-trash-capture devices (BASMAA, 2012a, BASMAA, 2012b). The Permittees applied the model as follows: The model was used to generate a preliminary map designating very high, high, moderate, and low trash generation areas. Local municipal staff reviewed the preliminary map and identified areas that had incorrect designations based on local knowledge of actual land uses and of trash generation rates 2013). Specific methods used to verify local trash generation rates are documented in Section 2 below and may include queries of municipal staff or members of the public, reviews of municipal operations data, viewing areas using Google Maps and Street View, application of BASMAA’s On-Land Visual Trash Assessment Protocol (BASMAA, 2013), or other methods. 2 The framework was developed in a November 1, 2012 meeting at Water Board staff offices and was refined in subsequent meetings with Water Board staff. 3 “Generation” is understood to be the volume of trash potentially available to be transported from the urban watershed (per acre, per year) into the storm drains in the absence of any control measures and BMPs. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 4 E. Trash Management Strategy Municipalities delineated Trash Management Areas (TMAs) within their jurisdictions (see Attachment TMA boundaries are based on land uses, drainage areas, management areas, and/or geographic considerations, and are drawn to facilitate focused and efficient efforts to reduce trash in areas with very high, high, and medium trash generation rates. The rationale for delineating TMAs in the specific municipality, an overview of the municipality’s trash management approach, and a description of activities that apply throughout the municipality (including hot spot cleanups, jurisdiction-wide policies, and jurisdiction-wide public outreach) is in Section 3. TMAs may be adjusted annually or as needed in order to further facilitate focused and efficient trash reduction efforts. Adjustments may include increasing or decreasing the total number of TMAs and changing TMA boundaries. Such adjustments to TMAs will be documented in El Cerrito’s Clean Water Program Annual Reports. Attachment 4 consists of individual summary plans for each municipal TMA. Each TMA plan describes the key TMA characteristics, summarizes control measures, and describes methods for evaluating effectiveness of efforts within the TMA. F. Assessing Effectiveness Each TMA summary plan includes methods to evaluate effectiveness. As indicated in the long term trash management framework, the primary purpose of these evaluations is to facilitate continuous improvement of control measures within the TMA. Continuous improvement requires TMA-specific interpretation of results, including consideration of factors that may have contributed to success, or lack of success, at that locale during the evaluation period. Evaluations of effectiveness and adjustments to the TMA summary plans will be included in each annual report. A secondary purpose of the evaluation methods is to contribute evidence toward an annual general evaluation of progress toward MRP goals. Such an evaluation will be based on weight-of-evidence, using the results from TMA-level evaluations of the effectiveness of specific actions within the TMA, and of the total of TMA-level actions, during the reporting period. A jurisdiction-wide assessment of progress will be compiled by combining this TMA-level evidence with the results of hot spot cleanups, visual assessments of creeks and shorelines, and observations by local residents and cleanup participants. As additional outcome-based assessment methods are devised and pilot tested—regionally and statewide— information derived from these methods will be incorporated into annual progress assessments. 2. City of El Cerrito Trash Management Overview A. Characteristics Affecting Trash Generation and Management El Cerrito is a predominantly residential community that serves as a commuting hub with two BART stations and many AC Transit stops. State Route 123 (San Pablo Avenue) traverses the City North to South and is the City’s primary commercial cooridor. Non-jurisdictional areas in El Cerrito that may affect trash generation include a short section of Interstate 80, seven schools (TMA 9A-G), and the BART stations. As described in Section 2.D above, trash generation rates in El Cerrito were modeled utilizing demographic data and land uses, and were further verified via extensive field observations. Attachment 1 demonstrates that that commercial areas and transit hubs/corridors constitute the most significant trash generation areas in El Cerrito, with all medium and high generation areas concentrated within the vicinity of the San Pablo Avenue corridor. As Attachment 1 also shows, nearly 80% of El Cerrito’s jurisdictional area has low trash generation rates. This indicates that, in order to meet long term trash reduction goals, El Cerrito will need to apply focused efforts along the San Pablo Avenue corridor while also addressing low trash generation rates elsewhere in the City. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 5 Table 2-1. Demographic data from the 2010 Census. Table 2-1. 2010 Census Data for the City of El Cerrito Population 23,549 Total Population Under 18 4,087 18-24 1,281 25-44 6,981 45-64 7,036 65 and older 4,236 Median household income $79,945 (2008-2012 US Census Bureau) Table 2-2. Summary of land uses in the City of El Cerrito. Table 2-2. 2005 Land Uses (ABAG) Land Use Category Jurisdictional Area (Acres) % of Jurisdictional Area Commercial and Services 68.6 3.0% Industrial 13.7 0.6% Residential 1604.1 69.8% Retail 132.2 5.7% K-12 Schools 90.8 3.9% Urban Parks 57.8 2.5% Other 333.3 14.5% B. Drainage System and Water Resources Affected by Trash El Cerrito’s municipal separate stormwater sewer system (MS4) collects storm water from the west side of the Berkeley Hills and channels the water from throughout the City into San Francisco Bay at the following locations: South of Point Isabel through Cerrito Creek, at Hoffman Marsh from Fluvious Ignominatus, and at Stege marsh through Baxter Creek (El Cerrito has no shoreline on San Francisco Bay). The majority of the trash litter that is generated or deposited in El Cerrito is seen in the retail and business districts that are located along San Pablo Avenue, near freeway entrances and exits, around the BART stations, and on streets with multi-family residential units. Cerrito Creek is the site of the City’s single Trash Hot Spot and is bordered by the City of Albany in Alameda County. Low to medium amounts of trash and litter have been observed in day lighted sections of the creek adjacent to retail areas, public paths and multi-family housing. C. Trash Problems and Priorities City staff reviewed and refined the original Trash Generation Map that was supplied by EOA, Inc. for BASMAA. The resulting Trash Generation Maps were verified using the BASMAA On-Land Visual Assessment Protocol by El Cerrito Public Works staff who visited 47 designated trash generation sites. The On-Land Visual Assessments involved staff walking along streets and creeks, inspecting school grounds and perimeters, and touring several parks and neighborhoods. Field notes and photos were taken at 47 sites to verify the trash generation rates for the areas designated on the maps as producing the highest trash loads. The final Trash Generation Map (Attachment 1) is based on the revisions to the original map provided by EOA. Data collected via the On-Land Visual Assessments was considered in combination with the City’s on-the-ground experience (via clean-up activities as detailed in Section 3.C) in determining the following trash problems and priorities. General Littering is one of the major sources of trash generation in all of El Cerrito’s trash management areas and specifically in TMAs 1 through 7. General littering is a significant problem that always has been an issue from a source control perspective. Changes to human behavior are some of the toughest ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 6 actions to implement with regards to planning a successful strategy for trash reduction. The City has historically (since prior to MRP implementation) and will continue to provide outreach to the public through countywide efforts as well as through citywide efforts to raise the public’s awareness of the harmful effects of litter and trash in waterways. Wind-blown trash is another significant consideration for trash movement into the City storm drains and creeks. Most windblown trash in El Cerrito originates from public and private waste containers along City streets and other public spaces (and therefore requires some degree of improved trash bin/container management as per Section 2.C) as it contributes to litter city-wide Illegal dumping is the remaining significant factor to high trash generating areas in El Cerrito. Illegal dumping along City streets, parks, and creeks – though it is not as problematic in El Cerrito as it is in other Bay Area communities – is a significant source of trash in the City in some areas, primarily in TMAs 1 through 7. Table 2-3 summarizes trash generation by land use. Table 2-3. Trash Generation Category by Land Use Trash Generation Category Jurisdictional Area (Acres) Commercial and Services Industrial Residential Retail K-12 Schools Urban Parks Other Very High 4.3 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% High 168.5 0.3% 0% 35.7% 63.4% 0% 0.1% 0.5% Medium 311.1 17% 4.1% 34.7% 6.5% 25.5% 11.8% 0.4% Low 1816.7 0.8% 0.1% 79% 0.1% 0.6% 1.2% 18.2% 3. El Cerrito Trash Management Strategy In December 2012, the City of El Cerrito submitted a revised Baseline Trash Load and Short-Term Trash Load Reduction Plan to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Francisco Bay Region. The Plan detailed several control measures designed to reach a 40% reduction by July 1, 2014. Below is a summary of El Cerrito’s progress to date; additional details will be included in El Cerrito’s FY14 Clean Water Program Annual Report. Single-Use Carryout Plastic Bag Ordinance El Cerrito’s Single-Use Bag Ordinance became effective January 1, 2014. See Section 3.D for details. Public Education and Outreach Programs El Cerrito has continued to conduct local outreach efforts, and has participated in regional outreach efforts. See Section 3.E for details. On-land Cleanups / Creek Cleanups The City has increased the number of clean-up activities conducted on an annual basis, for approximately 10 cleanups in FY14. These clean-ups are conducted in partnership with volunteers, and have been demonstrated to be effective at collecting trash/litter from streets and creeks. See Section 3.C for details. Bay Area-Wide Trash Capture Demonstration Project This grant project administered through the San Francisco Bay Estuary Partnership funded the installation of 45 Full Trash Capture Devices and 1 Partial Trash Capture Unit in what is primarily a retail corridor along San Pablo Avenue. There are twenty (20) Full Trash Capture Filter Units and twenty-six (26) ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 7 Connector Pipe Screen units installed, treating 83.5 acres total. The area treated by these devices is approximately 3.6% of the City’s total acreage, and 17% of the City’s medium to very high generation areas. See Attachment 3 for a map of areas currently treated by Full Trash Capture Devices. The City is planning to install more Full Trash Capture Devices in trash management areas in accordance with this plan. Improved Trash Bin/Container Management In September 2010, the City installed 59 new combined waste and recycling containers along San Pablo Avenue. Additionally, in 2009, the City installed 50 combined waste and recycling containers in City parks. These actions have helped that to reduce trash generation by intercepting it before it can enter storm drains. Bio-Retention Facilities on City Streets As part of the San Pablo Avenue Rain Gardens Project, the City has successfully completed two bio-retention facilities on San Pablo Avenue that capture trash and treat 1.7 acres of mixed transportation, commercial and residential impervious area stormwater runoff. The City was selected for two additional bio-retention sites as part of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) Green Stormwater Spine project; these gardens now in the final design phase will treat storm water and capture trash from 2.8 acres and are anticipated to be fully installed by 2015. New Development C.3 Compliance Bio-Retention Facilities In compliance with MRP Provision C.3 (New Development and Redevelopment), several development projects in El Cerrito, including Stege Sanitary District, the Recycling + Environmental Resource Center, Del Norte Safeway, and the former site of Windrush School have installed bio-retention facilities to treat storm water before it enters storm drains. In addition, prior to required C.3 compliance, the City installed bio-retention facilities at its new City Hall and required them at Cougar Field. These facilities also have the added benefit of capturing and immobilizing litter and trash, thereby preventing it from entering storm drains, and are an effective trash capture technique. Future revisions to this Long Term Trash Management Plan and the City’s Annual Clean Water Report may include maps of treatment areas for C.3 compliant low-impact development (LID) facilities. Long Term Trash Management Strategy The following Trash Management Strategy is designed to attain a 70% trash load reduction by July 1, 2017 and a 100% reduction by July 1, 2022. The strategy, as expressed via the individual TMA Plans (Attachment 4) may be updated and revised in response to changing conditions, including the amounts and location of trash generation, effectiveness of management actions, available resources and City policy directives. Updates may include increasing or decreasing the total number of TMAs in El Cerrito, Rain gardens capture trash before it can enter storm drains. Bio-retention facilities and native plantings at El Cerrito City Hall. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 8 changing TMA boundaries, and changing priority of strategies and specific actions. Updates will be documented in the City’s Clean Water Program Annual Report. The Long Term Trash Management Strategy being proposed for El Cerrito has been determined by staff to be the most cost effective and efficient method of meeting the trash reduction requirements for El Cerrito’s TMAs, given available information. These strategies build and expand on the trash reduction strategies that El Cerrito has already employed since the beginning of the Municipal Regional Permit Term. A. Delineation of Trash Management Areas The Trash Management Areas created for the City of El Cerrito were based on geographically connected high trash corridors along major arterial roadways or individual areas with the same land use and similar trash generation rates (see Attachment The results of this approach helped to create a map that characterizes high trash areas as either being part of a high trash corridor or being isolated and unique to specific locations based on land use or type. Staff tasked with the creation of the TMA map for the City, used personal knowledge of the City, extensive use of Google Earth™ street view, and performed visual field verifications to assess current conditions in 47 locations including the San Pablo Avenue corridor (TMAs 1-7). Refer to Section 2 for more on the trash generation verification process. Table 3-1. Trash Generation Category by Trash Management Area TMA Jurisdictional Area (Acres) Trash Generation Category Very High High Medium Low TMA 1 32.4 0 100 0 0 TMA 2A 16.3 0 42.4 56.7 0.9 TMA 2B 22.6 8 37.3 24.1 30.5 TMA 3A 108.6 1.6 40.8 57 0.7 TMA 3B 31.7 2.1 56.6 40.1 1.1 TMA 4 30.3 0 98.7 0.1 1.2 TMA 5 40.3 0 70.9 12.2 16.9 TMA 6A 46.5 0 0 100 0 TMA 6B 42.4 0 0 44.3 55.7 TMA 7A 30.7 0 0 100 0 TMA 7B 22.1 0 0.2 93.1 6.7 TMA 8A 27.0 0 0 100 0 TMA 8B 4.0 0 0 100 0 TMA 8C 4.5 0 0 100 0 TMA 8D 3.8 0 0 100 0 TMA 8E 1.7 0 0 100 0 TMA 9A 7.9 0 0 100 0 TMA 9B 6.5 0 0 100 0 TMA 9C 21.6 0 0 100 0 TMA 9D 4.7 0 0 100 0 TMA 9E 7.7 0 0 100 0 TMA 9F 5.8 0 0 100 0 TMA 9G 4.2 0 0 100 0 TMA 10 1777.2 0 0 0 100 ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 9 B. Area-Specific Control Measures, Implementation Schedules, and Effectiveness Assessment Long-Term Trash Reduction Plans for each Trash Management Area, including control measures, detailed implementation plans, and methods of assessing the effectiveness of control measures are in included as Attachment 4. C. Creek and Shoreline Cleanups The City of El Cerrito and its partners, including the Friends of Five Creeks, the Friends of Baxter Creek, the El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee - Green Teams, and other volunteers have conducted regular clean-ups of creeks, hot spots, and general litter areas for many years. More recently, and in response to the requirements of the MRP, regular documentation of these activities (and the trash they remove from streets, creeks and other areas) was established as a priority component of these activities. Observations from these clean-up activities have informed the trash characteristics, problems and priorities described in Section 2, and have influenced the City’s strategies described in this Section 3 as well as the Trash Reduction Plans for each TMA. Table 3-2. Creek and Shoreline Cleanups Location Description Cleanup Frequency Pre-MRP 12/2009 to 7/2014 7/2014 to 7/2017 After 7/2017 Location 1 Baxter Creek Gateway Park From Key Blvd to San Pablo Avenue Regular clean-ups occurred but were not well documented. 1x/ month, 11 mo./yr. since 2/2012 1x/month, 11 mo./yr 1x/month 11 mo./yr Location 2 Cerrito Creek From Ohlone Greenway to Richmond Border Regular clean-ups occurred but were not well documented. Quarterly, in fall 2013 Quarterly, as available Quarterly, as available Location 3 Cerrito Creek Hot Spot Regular clean-ups occurred but were not well documented. Annually Annually Annually D. Trash Reduction Policies In September 2013, the City of El Cerrito adopted two Ordinances that have the potential to decrease trash generation via general littering and windblown trash in El Cerrito. The El Cerrito Single-Use Bag Ordinance and the El Cerrito Food Ware Ordinance, which became effective January 1, 2014, should substantially reduce the number of single-use bags (especially plastic bags) and expanded (EPS) foam food containers generated in the City. Single-use bags and EPS foam food ware have been observed to be prevalent components of street litter, as well as storm drain and creek trash in El Cerrito, particularly because they are light and prone to being blown about by wind. Thus, significant reductions in their generation will likely result in a long-term reduction in the amount of litter in El Cerrito, which will reduce overall trash generation rates city-wide. Outreach about these Ordinances began in November 2013, and enforcement will begin July 1, 2014. The City has already issued letters and postcards to all potentially affected businesses, and has addressed the topic in three city-wide newsletters since the City Council adopted the Ordinances in September 2013. Staff in the City’s Public Works Department will conduct informational site visits to potentially affected Volunteers collect and characterize litter during the 2012 Hot Spot Clean-up on Cerrito Creek. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 10 businesses from March 2014 through June 2014, and will also conduct ongoing education and administrative code enforcement activities starting July 2014. Staff will track which businesses are compliant with the Ordinances in order to evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and compliance strategies, and will administer programmatic and/or policy changes as necessary to achieve the goals of the Ordinances. The City will rely on the assessment framework outlined in Section 3.F in order to determine the relative impacts of the Ordinances on the actual generation litter/trash attributable to single- use bags and EPS foam food ware. E. Public Education, Outreach, and Community Involvement Local Outreach El Cerrito conducts a number of local public education, outreach and community involvement efforts annually. In addition to the roughly 10 annual clean-up events hosted or sponsored by the City, the City also issues public information about the Clean Water Program in city-wide newsletters mailed directly to residents and businesses, waste and recycling newsletters inserted into garbage bills, and via annual events including Earth Day and the City’s 4th of July Celebration. Theses outreach avenues focus generally on the major elements of the Clean Water Program and the MRP, and will increasingly include themes related to litter and trash in the coming years. El Cerrito is also a sponsor of Kids for the Bay. Advertising Campaigns Through the the Permittees conducted a “Litter Travels, But It Can Stop with You” multi-year campaign beginning in FY 2009-2010. The multi-media campaign was designed to educate citizens about the impacts of trash and litter in the County’s waterways and how they can help address this problem. The campaign included TV spots, billboards, and posters at BART stations, placards on transit buses, print ads and updates to the website. Other outreach included more than 10,000 letters to County residents, contact with youth sports leagues, outreach to the 17 school districts in the County, and distribution of flyers to students in 5 of those districts. Pre and post-campaign surveys were conducted. California Product Stewardship Council Also through the Permittees support the work of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). CPSC's mission is to promote Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which is based upon shifting California's product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability. The CPSC's position is that the producers should have the primary responsibility to establish, fund, and manage end of life systems for their products. CPSC has advocated for EPR legislation affecting a wide-range of products including pharmaceuticals, batteries, paint, sharps, and mattresses. El Cerrito is also an independent member of the CPSC, and the El Cerrito City Council has issued letters in support of EPR legislation on a regular basis. Green Business Program The Green Business Program, of which is the largest contributing Partner in Contra Costa County, is designed to publicly recognize private businesses and public agencies that take extra steps, beyond baseline compliance with environmental regulations, to prevent pollution and save resources conserve water and energy, reduce waste through reuse and recycling, prevent stormwater pollution through good housekeeping practices, etc.). To date, 530 businesses have been certified as Green Businesses in Contra Costa County. Currently, 334 businesses are certified including a large number of auto repair shops, landscapers, waste haulers, printers, grocery and hardware stores, solar panel installers, and home remodelers. Numerous public agencies have also been certified. Municipal stormwater and POTW inspectors assist the Green Business program by encouraging potential Green Business candidates. staff serves on the Green Business Program's "Partners Committee" and actively ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 11 engages in development of the Green Business checklist the stormwater pollution prevention section that each business needs to complete before becoming certified as a green business). Some of the more relevant actions that businesses have undertaken to become certified or recertified that also reduce trash loads include the following: commit to reduce waste in a minimum of five ways, maintain parking areas free of litter, keep dumpsters covered when not in use, ensure tarps for covering loads are in good condition and used correctly, and purchase a minimum of three recycled-content products. El Cerrito is also a participating member in the Contra Costa Green Business Program, and operates two green business certified facilities; City Hall and the Recycling + Environmental Resource Center. 1-800-No-Dumping To address trash from illegal dumping, the operates a 1-800-No-Dumping hotline. The hotline is used by both businesses and the public to report potentially illegal dumping activities. All hotline calls are referred to the appropriate municipality for follow-up and, if necessary, enforcement. Calls have been logged since FY 2004-2005. Calls to the hotline are combined with calls that come directly to municipalities and Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Division and are tracked and documented annually in the municipal annual reports. El Cerrito publicizes this hotline via its website as well as in print publications such as newsletters. Other Outreach The and the City will continue to identify new partners and areas of outreach for source reduction and measures to reduce trash in the environment. is currently in contact with California Department of Transportation (Office of Stormwater Program Development) and hopes to identify trash load reduction projects in Contra Costa County that would be financially and strategically feasible for all involved parties. has also made contact with the California Highway Patrol, Contra Costa County Solid Waste Authority, and a number of transfer stations to potentially develop additional outreach materials to reduce litter from uncovered loads. F. Jurisdiction-wide Progress Assessment and Continuous Improvement Assessment Overview As indicated in the framework for long-term trash management detailed in Section 1.C, the primary purpose of conducting jurisdiction-wide progress assessments is to facilitate continuous improvement of control measures. Improvement requires TMA-specific interpretation of results, including consideration of factors that may have contributed to success, or lack of success, at that locale during the evaluation period. Evaluations of effectiveness and adjustments to the TMA summary plans will be included in each annual report. A secondary purpose of the evaluation method is to contribute evidence toward an annual general evaluation of progress toward MRP goals. Such an evaluation will be based on weight-of-evidence, using the results from TMA-level evaluations of the effectiveness of specific actions within the TMA, and of the total of TMA-level actions, during the reporting period. A jurisdiction-wide assessment of progress will be compiled by combining this TMA-level evidence with the results of hot spot cleanups, visual assessments of creeks, and observations by local residents and cleanup participants. As additional outcome-based assessment methods are devised and pilot tested—regionally and statewide—information derived from these methods will be incorporated into annual progress assessments. Specific assessment plans for trash reduction actions in the City of El Cerrito are described below as well as in the individual TMA Plans in Attachment 4. Assessments will be performed by staff in the El Cerrito Public Works Department. Based on the data collected via these assessment methods, staff will analyze, propose, seek approval for, and implement changes to the Trash Management Strategy as needed in order to demonstrate continuous improvement. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 12 Full Trash Capture Devices Where the City has installed full trash capture devices – including both current and future devices – the City will make arrangements for regular clean-outs of the devices, either using in-house maintenance workers or outside contractors. Volumes of materials removed from the full trash capture devices will be documented by TMA, and will then be delivered to the transfer station at the City of El Cerrito Recycling + Environmental Resource Center (RERC) located at 7501 Schmidt Lane, El Cerrito, where the materials will be collected in designated roll-off containers. Once a full load of clean-out materials is collected, it will be shipped to the City’s solid waste processor (Republic Services) for processing and disposal. The City will periodically (at least annually) have Republic conduct a waste characterization of a load of clean-out materials generated from the City’s full trash capture devices in order to determine the percentage of organics to trash and typical trash found with the collection of debris (plastic bags, plastic bottles, paper trash and other). Enhanced Street Sweeping The City will continue its current practice of collecting tonnage data on all loads of street sweeping materials collected in El Cerrito. Currently, all material collected by the City’s street sweeping contractor are combined into large roll-off container loads at the RERC. The City tracks each of the loads shipped for disposal. As the City implements enhanced street sweeping measures for applicable TMAs, the City will have the ability to track whether there are any observable increases in the tonnage of street sweeping materials collected. The City intends to request waste characterizations of street sweeping materials on an annual or bi-annual basis in order to determine the percentage of organics to trash and typical trash found with the collection of debris (plastic bags, plastic bottles, paper trash and other). Improved Trash Bin/Container Management For the areas where increased service or additional receptacles are planned, the assessments for this measure will include documentation of service enhancements negotiated with the solid waste and recycling haulers (existing improvements have already been documented in prior Annual Reports). For all of the areas where improved trash bin service will be proposed to the West Contra Costa Unified School District (or other non-jurisdictional areas), the assessment strategy will have to be devised and implemented as negotiations develop. On-land Trash Cleanups The primary method for determining the effectiveness of on-land trash cleanup strategies implemented within a trash management area will be the use of the BASMAA On-Land Visual Trash Assessment Protocol (BASMAA, 2013). This method will be used on a limited basis to verify that specific on-the- ground trash reduction strategies are effective and to measure the trash load rate subsequent to the implementation of the trash reduction strategy to determine the treatment interval needed to achieve the desired level of trash within the area. In most cases the desired level will be “no visual impact” or green on the trash load maps. But for more trash challenged TMAs, the initial goal will be to reduce the trash load to “medium” or yellow on the trash load maps. Once a TMA has reduced the trash generation load One of the full trash capture devices already in use in El Cerrito. ---PAGE BREAK--- City of El Cerrito Trash Management Plan I 2014 – 2022 January 30, 2014 13 to medium, the City will explore what additional trash reduction strategies will be required to achieve “no visual impact.” On-land trash cleanups will be assessed prior to the scheduled date. A photograph or photographs will be taken to help to characterize the volumes and types of trash to be collected. Staff and volunteers will use data sheets created by the City during the on-land cleanups to track volumes (and/or samples of) and types of trash (plastic bags, plastic bottles, paper trash and other). Periodically, as feasible (and pending appropriate training of volunteers) photographs will be taken following on-land cleanups to show that the clean-ups are successful at eliminating visual impacts of trash in the cleaned areas. The assessment will include monitoring of the area to see how long it takes for the generation rate to return to its previously assessed generation rate. 4. References BASMAA 2012a. Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association. Trash Generation Rates for San Francisco Bay Area MS4s (Draft Final). Presentation to the BASMAA Trash Committee, August 2012. Prepared by EOA, Inc. BASMAA 2012b. Baseline Trash Generation Rates, Preliminary Calibration of Modeled Results, Presentation to BASMAA Trash Committee, September, 2012. Prepared by EOA, Inc. BASMAA 2013a. Visual On-Land Trash Assessment Protocol for Stormwater, Version 1.0 (Draft). April 30, 2013. Prepared by EOA, Inc. 2013. Contra Costa Clean Water Program. Long-Term Trash Load Reduction Plan Development—Trash Generation Map Refinements. Technical Memorandum, May 20, 2013. Prepared by EOA, Inc.