Minutes

Green Committee

Wednesday, 11/16/16, 7:00PM

City Hall Conference Rm.

Members:Ken Camera, Jim Norwalk, Larry Campbell, Melissa Hegarty, Tarah Rouse

Public:

Invited Guests:

Green House Gas Inventory.

Larry Campbell presented his 2014-15 update of the City’s Green House Gas (GHG) Inventoryanalysis using DEC Climate Smart Communities’ (CSC) software.Graphs of total GHG emissions and emissions by departments for 2011 -2015 show interesting departmental changes (both positive and negative), and only a very slight reduction in total emissions.

Larry also presented several spreadsheets containing monthly and yearly electricity and natural gas usage for 90-some NYSEG accounts for those years, as well as yearly gas and diesel usage for the vehicle fleet bydepartment. This is the data that provides the input for the CSC GHG inventory software. Again, time graphs of these data display interesting monthly and yearly fluctuations, a few of which he thought he might have an explanation for. His hope is that city staff will take an interest in this data, provide informed explanations of the changes observed, and use what they learn to plan and execute actions to lower Cityenergy usage and GHG emissions.

To this end, Larry said that he would ask Matt Horn to arrange a meeting with his senior staff and the Sustainability Task Force, at which he could present the data and his findings. He asked the GGC to support this request, and those in attendance said that they would.

The Committee agreed that it would be important for the GGC to encourage the City Manager to set up this meeting soon.

Note: subsequent to the GGC meeting, this meeting was scheduled for December 6th at 10:00 AM, 2nd floor at City Hall and was confirmed by Matt that it indeed took place.

City Trash Hauling System Revisions

City’s trash hauling system was the second topic of discussion for the evening. This discussion started about 4 months ago in earnest after the Committee decided to modify the City Trash Hauling License and accompanying guidelines to improve performance of the private waste hauling system. This focus emerged from many discussions over the last year about how to improve the recycling rates in the City, introduce composting pickup from restaurants, and reduce truck traffic in the City. “Everyday is trash day in Geneva” is a common complaint of residents.

  1. Up until recently, the license approach offered both the opportunity to reduce the garbage truck traffic in each Ward of the City to once per week and also put in place some safeguards to insure that there was less commingling of waste streams during the collection process. However, it would essentially leave the private collection system intact whereby residents make their own arrangements directly with hauling companies for pickup of their service and pay for services rendered.
  2. Then in early Fall of this year, after Ken surveyed several of the waste haulers for comments on the license adjustments we started entertaining the idea brought up by one of the larger haulers that we should consider putting the entire City residential garbage pickup out to bid. As a result of conversations with both Casella and Feher, serious consideration was given to this idea because both suggested that this approach could save every residential customer in the City on average ~$100/year.
  3. This brought us to the point of this meeting’s discussion. Between the October and November meetings of the GGC, we developed a set of Objectives for how we might pursue a redesign of the City’s was hauling approach. Those objectives were fine-tuned and prioritized via email by the committee prior to this meeting.

Here are the Objectives, prioritized, as refined by Tarah Rouse.

Geneva Green Committee – Working Draft

Objectives for Waste Collection System Change

City of Geneva

Fall 2016

Condensed

  1. Decrease Costs
  2. Increase System Efficiency & Control
  3. Address Sustainability Goals
  4. Advance Community Education & Waste Culture
  5. Improve Measurement

Expanded

  1. Decrease Costs
  2. Reduce waste collection costs for citizens
  3. Better match costs to generation
  4. Increase System Efficiency & Control
  5. Minimize garbage truck traffic and waste collection trips
  6. Standardize waste collection infrastructure (e.g. toters)
  7. Address Sustainability Goals
  8. Incentivize recycling and/or disincentivize landfill material through system design and policies
  9. Helpfulfill our mandate as a signatorytothe Climate Smart Communities pledge with the NYS DEC
  10. Decrease carbon footprint through minimizing greenhouse gas emissions from waste transportation
  11. Advance Community Education & Waste Culture
  12. Improvecustomer communication and education
  13. Improve the status or public image of the Geneva Community regardingsolid waste disposal practices
  14. Improve Measurement
  15. Measure and track resident waste generation (recycling and landfill) and utilize data for system decision-making and educational efforts

The discussion considered the scope of going to a bid system and how we could better control the waste hauling process and increase the efficiency and tonnage of recycling collected in the City. It became apparent to some that going a bid system would be more effective. At the same time it was argued that we would also have to provide a more comprehensive design of the solid waste collection in order to ask haulers to bid vs. tweaking the licensing approach the City currently uses. It was also mentioned that if we were going in the direction of a bid, we should also develop a survey of the community or (at least focus groups) to get some feedback on the level of satisfaction with the current system and their attitude toward making significant changes to the system or change their waste hauler.

Trash Hauling System- Trade Offs

Design the City solid waste management process for bidding, take another six months to a year of research and detailed effort to achieve virtually all our objectives (reduce costs, pay as you throw, standardization, improved control, trucks off the streets, better image, and create a structure that could support the introduction of composting pick-up, etc….)

vs.

Create a new license agreement in a short period of time and achieve some modest, incremental improvements in the current system that would accomplish some but not all of the objectives outlined (get trucks off the street and improve control possibly through some limited additional features that could be added to the license agreement).

We also noted that with the former approach, it would very possibly entail the demise of a local hauler who could not necessarily achieve the economies of scale that the larger haulers could achieve or withstand a substantial loss of business in its sole market, Geneva.

At this point, the ensuing conversation suggested that perhaps we consider taking the City Solid Waste improvement process in two steps:

  • Phase 1 - First we implement the new license agreement with some added, required features that achievea couple of the objectives (stated above).
  • Phase 2 - Then over the next couple of years consider additional measures to add, modify or replace (going to a bid system) the current trash hauling system in the context of a more comprehensive City solid waste management planand as we observe how Phase 1 works.

One of the things the GGC needs to be realistic about is what can it accomplish on a volunteer basis working essentially on a month-to-month basis, with seldom more than half its members in attendance at any one time.

Given this working reality of GGC operation and as the Council liaison, Ken would like to personally champion this two-step approach. We can make some immediate, incremental improvements in the trash hauling system with a mind on implementing some elements that might likely become part of a more comprehensive solid waste management plan for the City over the next couple of years. This achieves some improvements in the short-run that benefit all Genevans in 2017.

Toward that end it may make sense to return to the editing of the license agreement and besides segmenting the City into five zones for residential pick-up add these facets to the licensing process:

  • Define the recycling obligation of the waste haulers to keep waste and recycling streams separate and propose fines for infractions
  • Require the waste haulers to publish their rate structures at the beginning of every year (or when they renew their license agreement). The City website would be updated with this information as a public service.[1]
  • Require waste haulers to label all their toters with signage that clearly differentiates the container from being one for recycling or for trash.
  • Require waste haulers to offer a curbside food waste pickup service by 2018 including waste containers.

NEXT Meeting is on Wednesday, Dec 21, 2016. Can anyone make this meeting???

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11/29/20161rkc

[1]There is currently a section on the City’s website that could be made more prominent and expanded.