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First Quarter 20111 M E M O R A N D U M To: Mayor Tammy DeWeerd Members of the Meridian City Council: Mr. David Zaremba, President Mr. Brad Hoaglun, Vice President Mr. Keith Bird Mr. Charlie Rountree Members of the Meridian Solid Waste Advisory Commission From: Sanitary Services Company, Inc. (SSC) Subject: Summary of Solid Waste Collection and Recycling, First Quarter, 2011 Date: April 12, 2011 Introduction Sanitary Services Company is dedicated to providing reliable solid waste collection; innovative, effective recycling and waste reduction programs; quality customer service; valuable public outreach and education efforts; and strong community involvement to the areas we service. This quarterly report includes solid waste and recycling information for the first calendar quarter of 2011. We have included data for the prior quarter for comparison purposes. More detailed information is available upon request. Please contact SSC at 888-3999 if you have comments or questions regarding this report. Residential Trash Collection In July of 2010, trash collection in Meridian changed from a rear-loader unlimited collection program where residents could set out as much trash as they wanted, to a fully automated collection system where customers choose the size and number of wheeled trash carts they need and pay accordingly, thus making residents more accountable for the amount of trash they dispose of. To help lower the amount of trash residents place at the curb, SSC encourages participation in the voluntary curbside recycling program, which is provided free of charge. The new collection system has made an impact on the amount of trash that Meridian residents throw away. During the first quarter of 2011, SSC collected 11,003,400 pounds of trash from our residential routes. This amount showed a decrease of 23.3 percent from the first quarter of 2010, when trash service was unrestricted and residents were allowed unlimited disposal of household waste. 2 Residential Curbside Recycling The residential curbside recycling program began in October of 2000 as a source separated system using a 15-gallon recycling bin. In Mid-October of 2009, the curbside recycling program changed to an automated, co-mingled system in which residents have their choice of using a 35-gallon, 65-gallon, or 95-gallon wheeled cart for recycling. The following items are accepted for curbside recycling in Meridian: mixed waste paper (including telephone directories), corrugated cardboard, magazines and catalogs, aluminum and tin cans, newspaper, and all numbers of plastic bottles, tubs, jugs, and clamshells. Meridian residents diverted 1,913,400 pounds of recyclable materials (17.4 percent of the residential waste stream) from the landfill during the first quarter of 2010. This was an increase of 22.9 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Used Oil Recycling Curbside collection of used motor oil was first offered to Meridian residents in May of 1999, and used cooking oil was added to the program in July of 2006. Meridian is the only city in the Treasure Valley to offer used cooking oil recycling to its residents. There have been 70,960 gallons of used oil collected since the program began. During the first quarter of 2011, residents recycled 1,260 gallons of used oil through the curbside program, a 10.2 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. Household Hazardous Waste Collection The Meridian Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection site, located in the SSC parking lot, is the busiest mobile collection site in Ada County. Meridian residents can drop off their HHW between noon and 7:00 PM every Monday except major holidays. Nearly 891,000 pounds of household hazardous waste has been collected at the Meridian mobile collection site since the program began in 2001. First quarter collection numbers for 2011 were nearly identical to 2010. During the first quarter of 2011, there were 28,036 pounds of HHW collected, which was an increase of exactly 10 pounds from the first quarter of 2010. The number of participating homes continues to increase. The Meridian mobile collection site serviced 1,185 homes during the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 13.3 percent from the first quarter of 2010. 3 Roll Off Refuse Collection Roll off services are provided to permanent accounts that have compactors or roll off boxes, and temporary accounts that utilize mini roll off boxes (6, 8, and 10 cubic yard boxes) or our larger 20, 30, or 40 cubic yard boxes. The SSC roll off system collected 8,204,070 pounds of waste during the first quarter of 2011, a 2.6 percent increase from the first quarter of 2010. Comparison of First Quarter Roll Off Collection Material 2010 Pounds 2011 Pounds Compact 4,422,000 3,767,000 Demolition 3,016,160 3,791,760 Loose 560,710 645,310 Total 7,998,870 8,204,070 SSC diverts several items from the landfill via our roll off program. During the first quarter of 2011, there were 1,032,333 pounds of materials recycled via the roll off program rather than taken to the landfill. This amount represented an increase in diversion of 2.8 percent from the same timeframe in 2010. Comparison of First Quarter Roll Off Diversion Commodity 2010 Pounds 2011 Pounds Cardboard 750,630 802,598 Wood 31,500 33,000 Paper 43,010 35,955 Gypsum 136,000 60,000 Plastic Bottles 24,060 41,460 Metal 0 33,070 Christmas Trees 18,750 26,250 Total 1,003,950 1,032,333 4 SSC Transfer Station Collection The SSC transfer station accepts waste from commercial trucks, residential trucks, roll off trucks, mini roll off trucks, and public vehicles. There were 24,242,400 pounds of waste compacted at the transfer station during the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 6.3 percent over the first quarter of 2010. This figure included waste from Kuna and unincorporated Ada County, which SSC does not provide trash collection services to. The waste was taken to the Ada County Landfill for disposal. In addition to solid waste drop off, SSC provides recycling opportunities for several items at our transfer station. During the first quarter of 2011, there were 759,635 pounds of materials recycled via the SSC transfer station rather than taken to the landfill. This was an increase in recycling of 20.9 percent over the first quarter of 2010. Comparison of First Quarter Transfer Station Diversion Commodity 2010 Pounds 2011 Pounds Wood 348,000 286,500 Grass 0 5,620 Rock 150,000 150,000 Metal 81,180 127,175 Leaves 0 118,200 Cardboard 25,290 47,200 Carpet Pad 12,400 23,260 Christmas Trees 9,000 mixed w/wood Refrigeration Units 2,590 1,680 Total 628,460 759,635 5 Commercial Collection Sanitary Services provides collection to each commercial business in Meridian at least once a week. Our front load trucks collected 9,168,600 pounds of waste during the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 18.3 percent over the first quarter of 2010. In November of 2007, SSC began offering a Commercial Co-Mingled Recycling Program utilizing 95-gallon carts for small businesses, and specialized 5-yard containers for larger businesses. Numerous businesses and every school within Meridian City limits participate in this successful recycling program, and approximately 5,886,000 pounds of materials have been recycled through their efforts. Items that can be recycled in this recycling program include: newspapers, corrugated cardboard, magazines and catalogs, aluminum and tin cans, mixed waste paper, and plastic bottles and jugs. During the first quarter of 2011, there were 537,150 pounds of co-mingled recyclables collected from Meridian businesses, which was an increase of 12.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010.