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AGENDA BILL Agenda Item No. 6 Date: August21, 2012 To: El Cerrito City Council From: Garth Schultz, Environmental Analyst Melanie Mintz, Environmental Services Division Manager Subject: Fees for Expanded Recycling Services at the Recycling and Environmental Resource Center ACTION REQUESTED Conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion consider adoption of (a.·resolution amending Miscellaneous Services Fees within the Master Fee Schedule (Res0lution 2012-34) to add fees relating to: 1. Drop-off collection and recycling of compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes for patrons not paying for local Household Hazardous Waste programs; and 2. Rental of solid waste -recycling, compost, and garbage - event stands and bags. BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS CFLs and Tubes In 2010, prior to reconstruction of the City's new Recycling and Environmental Resource Center in 2011/2012, the Environmental Services Division (ESD) held a series of community engagement meetings and solicited survey responses regarding the types and levels of services offered via the Recycling Center. The main thread of comments received from the meetings and survey tended heavily towards the Center accepting a wide array of hard-to-recycle materials, a theme which greatly influenced the design, construction, and now implementation of the new Center. Among the most-commonly requested services was drop-off collection of compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes. Upon completion of the Recycling and Environmental Resource Center in April 2012, the ESD began collecting CFLs and tubes as a satellite operation of the local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility, located in Richmond. Since HHW facility operations are funded by the Integrated Resource Recovery Facility (IRRF) fees paid by all residential solid waste customers in the West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority (RecycleMore) - which includes El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole, and Hercules - patrons of the Center who reside in these cities are able to drop-off their CFLs and tubes for recycling at the Center at no cost. Furthermore, as a satellite collection for the HHW facility, the City of El Cerrito bears no direct cost of recycling CFLs and tubes from these "in-area" patrons, since these costs are recovered as a part of the IRRF budget and fee-setting process. Page 1 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 6 However, the Center still receives multiple daily inquiries from business and residents of other cities (who are not eligible for free drop-off of CFLs and tubes) regarding the potential for City of El Cerrito acceptance of these materials from "out-of-area" residents and businesses, including the unincorporated areas of West Contra Costa County. These populations often lack alternative avenues for safe recycling of these items, and the Center would have the capacity to collect and handle these materials if the ESD were able to recover the costs for handling and recycling them. ESD staff has discussed collection of non-RecycleMore CFLs and tubes with the HHW facility operator and RecycleMore staff and has established that it is possible to collect these materials from out-of-area residents and businesses at no cost to IRRF rate-payers and with no increase to ESD staffing costs. Providing this cost-based service will enable ESD staff to provide on-site alternatives for safe disposal of these materials and help avoid the negative outcomes that often occur when out-of-area patrons bring CFLs or tubes to the Center, and are informed that they cannot currently be accepted. Specifically, providing this service will:· h~lP. avoid on and off-site illegal dumping of these materials; foster greater customer. s~tisfaction among all patrons, and; help prevent mercury pollution that is frequently the result of incorrect disposal of CFLs and tubes (a major water quality concern). Solid Waste Event Stand Rentals For the past several years the ESD has provided no-cost rentals for event stands and bags for collecting recycling, compost, and garbage to local organizations and businesses holding events in El Cerrito, including private schools, churches, Boy Scouts, and City-sponsored events (including the annual Fourth of July Events in 2011 and 2012). Requests for use of the stands and bags have been increased over the past two years, which has resulted in multiple re-orders of bags and some inventory loss from mishandling of equipment by the users. The ESD is recommending a small Rental Fee for non-City sponsored users in order to cover costs of the bags and handling of equipment and an Event Stand Replacement Fee in order to recover the cost of lost or damaged stands. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS These proposed fees will enable the Environmental Services Division to broaden the depth of services available through the Recycling and Environmental Resource Center without impacting Integrated Waste Management (IWM) Fee rate-payers. These fees are based on hard costs for providing the proposed services and include full cost recovery for administration and handling for the services being proposed. For the CFLs and tubes, the fees take into account the City's actual costs via the HHW facility for safe and proper disposal of these items, with an added margin to cover the additional handling and administrative costs associated with these materials. The large quantity fee is included to cover the greater staffing and administrative costs associated with handling non-residential quantities of these items, and is also intended as an incentive for patrons to recycle these materials as they are generated, rather than stockpiling them. Overall, these fees are higher than what the Berkeley Recycling Center offers for this service, which staff believes is appropriate as the intention is to offer these services at a convenience to Center patrons, and not price these Page2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Agenda Item No. 6 services at a competitive advantage compared to other service providers. For the event stands and bags, the fees are tied to the cost of the bags (which range from $0.50 to $1.00 per bag) and staff time for delivery and set up of the stands. The stand replacement fee is a rounded figure for the cost of replacing a lost or damaged stand and is mainly intended to prevent loss. Proposed Fees The table below details the proposed fees: Service Fee Compact Fluorescent Bulb (CFL) Recycling (per bulb)* $3.00 Fluorescent Tube Recycling (per linear foot)* $0.50 CFL & Tube Large Quantity Fee (flat fee in addition to per bulb/foot fee $10.00 for over 15 CFLs and/or 30 feet) Solid Waste Event Stand Rental (per set of3 per event) $10.00 Solid Waste Event Stand Replacement (per stand) I ··$60.00 * Fees for CFL and tube recycling only apply to patrons seeking to recycle"-these materials at the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center who are not residents of cities within RecycleMore and therefore do not pay for local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) programs. All residential solid waste rate payers in the Cities of El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules are eligible to recycle these items at the Center at no cost. Fees apply to 1) all businesses seeking to utilize these services and/or 2) residents of cities other than those listed above. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS As required by California Government Code §66018(a), the City is required to conduct a public hearing prior to adopting any new fees or fee increases, as follows: 66018(a): Prior to adopting an ordinance, resolution, or other legislative enactment adopting a new fee or approving an increase in an existing fee to which this section applies, a local agency shall hold a public hearing, at which oral or written presentations can be made, as part of a regularly scheduled meeting. Notice of the time and place of the meeting, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered, shall be published in accordance with Section 6062a. This public hearing satisfies the Government Code requirement and was noticed in the West County Times on August 11, 2012 and August 16,2012. Reviewed by: Scott Hanin, City Manager Attachments: 1. Resolution Page 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- RESOLUTION 2012-XX Agenda Item No. 6 Attachment 1 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL CERRITO AMENDING THE MISCELLANEOUS SERVICE FEES WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR 2012-2013MASTER FEE SCHEDULE (RESOLUTION 2012-34) TO INCLUDE EXPANDED RECYCLING COLLECTION OPTIONS WHEREAS, as a result of community input leading up to the redesign and reconstruction of the City of El Cerrito Recycling Center (Center) in 2011/2012 the Environmental Services Division (ESD) identified expanded collection of hard-to-recycle materials as a key area for recycling service improvements in El Cerrito; and WHEREAS, upon re-opening in April 2012 as the Recycling and Environmental Resource Center the Center began collecting compact fluorescent bulbs ( CFLs) and fluorescent tubes at no cost from Integrated Resource Recovery Facility (IRRF) fee-paying re_sidents of El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules in conjunction with the local.