DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: David McCary
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Pay As You Throw Collection Program
SUMMARY:
This update provides City Council information on the progress of the City wide roll-out of the Pay As You Throw Collection Program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In June 2010, City Council adopted a 10-Year Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan (Recycling Plan). On January 31, 2013, the Recycling Plan was revised to a multi-year Recycling Plan and adopted by City Council. The strategic goals outlined in the Recycling Plan are to ensure that all single-family and multi-family residents have access to convenient recycling programs, to improve recycling opportunities for businesses, and to recycle 60 percent of all residential curbside materials collected by SWMD by the year 2025.
The Department has undertaken a variety of initiatives in order to reach these goals. Since the adoption of the Recycling Plan, the Department has revamped the brush and bulky collection process to increase brush recycling, constructed and opened a new brush recycling center in the City's South Side, increased blue cart recycling outreach, increased recycling education to schools, opened four bulky drop off centers, and obtained City Council approval of an ordinance requiring multifamily complexes to provide recycling. Since the implementation of the Recycling Plan, the Department has increased the amount of materials recycled from 7% to 33%. Currently, the Department is implementing the next major steps to achieve 60% recycling, Pay As You Throw (PAYT) and the Organic Collection Program.
In FY 2016, the Department began the PAYT conversion roll-out (which also includes the Organic Collection Program). Conversion to PAYT is a major driver in achieving the 60% residential recycling goal by 2025. The PAYT conversion roll-out program includes education and outreach as well as enforcement as major components to the pr...
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