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Memo Yard Waste . CITY OF HOPKINS MEMORANDUM DATE: March 1, 1994 TO: Mayor and city Council ~ FROM: Lee Gustafson, Public Works Director SUBJECT: Yard Waste and Brush Issues and Options Purpose The purpose of this workshop is to update the Council on current Yard Waste and Brush practices and to propose some procedural changes along with educational opportunities. Staff is proposing these changes in an effort to comply with the legislative mandates of visible costs for solid waste collection, waste reduction, and the requirement that the fees charged increase by the volume or weight collected. Staff is also responding to information derived from the recent refuse survey we conducted in August of 1993. . The first two sections of information will outline current yard waste and brush related services provided by the city and recommend improvements. Improvements recommended are intended to incorporate user fees for services, along with free service opportunities throughout the season. The third section will outline a proposed community educational program on Yard Waste management. . . Memo March 1, 1994 Page 2 . SECTION I Service: Yard Waste Pick-up Budget Fund: Refuse utility Amount Collected: 1200 tons Cost: Approximately $56,000/year - Includes Fall leaf pick up costs Current Cost to Resident: $0 Proposed Cost to Residen',,:: $1.00 per bag/sticker system during summer months plus free alternatives all year Background: The city began providing yard waste collection in the fall only, over 25 years ago as a General Fund Public Works street cleaning function. All other summer generation of grass and leaves was collected along with regular refuse. In 1987 the city began collecting all yard waste separate from regular household refuse on a call-in basis. In 1989 we switched to the current system which is collection the same day as regular refuse. The leaves and yard waste piCked-Up are stored at our gravel pit and given away free to anyone after the material has been composted. . The cost of providing this service was originally offset by the reduction in landfill tipping fees. Then in 1989 legislation banned this material from landfills and separate collection was required. state law requires that yard waste not be collected with regular refuse that is sent to landfills and incinerators. Because of this legislation, in 1989 Hennepin County began funding yard waste collection programs which gave the city $3.1,000 per year in funding assistance for yard waste collection. Beginning in 1994 this funding assistance from the County will no longer be available. considerations; o Funding loss of over $31,000. o Most residents do not bag grass, only leaves in the fall. This was shown by responses to our refuse survey. Only 20% of the residents regularly use this service. . A user fee would make those who use it the most pay for the service. - Should yard waste collection move towards becoming a more user fee based service? Ideally, staff would like to see yard waste converted over to be a more user fee based system. This would hopefully reduce the number of piCk ups, and possibly reduce the number of back injuries the city experiences each year associated with this . service. It would also make those who use the service pay for it, and possibly help promote reCYCling by giving incentive for people to leave their lawn clippings on their grass. . Memo March 1, 1994 ~ Page 3 To accomplish this staff would propose free curbside collection 4It of yard waste in the Spring from April 15 through May 15 and then again in the Fall from october 15 through November 15. We would also offer a free drop off on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesday evenings from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. throughout the season. The free drop off would be held at Public Works, where residents could bring their yard waste in bags or liftable containers, to the site and deposit them right into a truck. The city would them take them out to our compost site for composting. Any resident desiring curbside collection of bagged grass/leaves throughout the other summer months would be required to purchase stickers at a cost of $1.00 per bag of yard waste. These stickers would be made available through the receptionist either by calling and having them mailed and billed to their account, or by coming in to purchase them directly. Recommendation: o continue to pick up bagged leaves free in the spring (April 15- May 15) and in the fall (October 15-November 30) using current methods, including the street collection in Belgrave, Interlachen, and Hobby Acres. o Charge $1.00 per bag for pick up - sticker system from May 15 - October 15. o Implement free drop off from May 15 through October 15 on 4It Saturdays from 10-2 and Wednesdays evenings from 3-6 o Provide five (5) free yard waste stickers to all residential customers to ease the transition into the new program. . 4It ~ .. Memo March 1, J.994 ,;.age 4 SECTION II Service: Brush Pick-up Budqet Fund: General - P.W. Tree Service Amount Co:; . .:;>:cted: 400 tons (ineludes diseased tree tons collected) Cost of Be~vice: Approximately $30,000 Current Cost to Resident: $0 Proposed Cost to Resident: $10.00 per stop/pick-up from Hay 15 - October 15 Background: The city has provided brush pick-up at the curb since 1972 as part of the General Fund PUblic Works tree service function. Beginning with the 1994 budget the costs associated with weekly brush pick up were removed from Tree Service and put into a separate Brush Service budget. This new budget will reflect costs associated with weekly brush collection only. Currently brush is collected every Friday on a call-in basis throughout the year. At this time we are averaging 150 stops per week from May through October, and 20 to 40 during the rest of the year. The brush is chipped or burned at our gravel pit. . This program has been effective in keeping the trees and yards in a neat condition. considerations; 0 We may have difficulty in the :future burning brush if restrictions are tightened by the peA and/or complaints of nearby residents become too frequent. 0 This material =-5 banned from disposal along with regular household refuse. Because of this the number of stops has increased as residents who were accustomed to putting small amounts in their refuse container are no longer allowed to. 0 Hopkins is one of the few cities collecting brush as a general tax expense. Some cities provide locations for drop off by residents and licensed refuse haulers. The County contracts to provide a drop off location in Maple Grove for all haulers and residents. Charges for this vary with size and type of material. Most cities require brush to be picked up as part of regular refuse. . . Memo March I, 1994 Page 5 . - Should brush pick up move towards becoming a more user fee based service? Our current equipment allows us to perform this service without major difficulty. However, the increased number of stops and quantities collected are consequently increasing the manpower requirements, and performance is somewhat difficult when combined with yard waste pick-up. A pick-up charge of 10 dollars per stop could be initiated to help defray part or all of the costs, and give incentive for residents to combine their loads with neighbors or possibly use a free drop off. A brush pick up charge would be helpful in equalizing the work load. This charge could generate 10 to 20 thousand dollars and provide partial funding for the cost of providing this service. The Brush Service budget would be moved into the Refuse utility to handle the fees collected and serve more as an enterprise fund. Recommendation: 0 Free pick up from October 15 - May 15 0 Charge $10.00 per pick up from May 15 - October 15 0 Implement free drop off from May 15 through October 15 on Saturdays from 10-2 and Wednesdays evenings from 3-6 to coincide . with yard waste. 0 Move Brush Service into the Refuse utility SUMMARY SECTION I & II The recommendations as outlined above are proposed in an effort to alleviate problems associated with our current programs. Some of the recommendations are made in an attempt to comply with legislative mandates of waste reduction and visible costs. other are made as a result of resident responses to our refuse survey. Moving to a user based fee system wi 11 place more of the costs for programs onto the residents that use them. It will also encourage residents to leave clippings on the lawn. User fees for yard waste and brush should be considered as an method to keep the refuse rate in compliance with mandated volume based fees. .