COLLECTING GREEN WASTE - MESA STYLE

摘要

The City of Mesa Solid Waste Division has been providing Mesa residents with residential solid waste collection services for 45 years and is committed to providing efficient and effective programs. Since City staff implemented automated collection in 1985, Mesa has grown from servicing only 10,000 homes to providing weekly trash and recycling service to over 100,000 single-family homes. The most common resident complaint heard when the City implemented the curbside commingled Blue Barrel Recycling Program in 1994 was that there was not enough capacity for both household trash and green waste material in a single barrel. Although options for additional collection were offered, they were costly and not well received. The City also developed a backyard composting program as its first effort to provide a green waste disposal option. This program was geared toward a small number of residents and the City decided that an additional citywide program was warranted. Capitalizing on the success of the Blue Barrel Program participation levels and cost savings reaped from the automated program, staff focused on creating a program utilizing green barrels and curbside collection. Preparation for the implementation of the Green Waste Barrel Program began in Spring 1996 in an effort to divert additional tonnage from the landfill. Residents within a 6,000 home service area that had two trash barrels were surveyed to determine if they would be willing to designate one or more refuse barrels for green waste only. Over the residents surveyed, over 80 percent supported some type of green waste program. Additionally, over 40% indicated they would support paying a nominal fee for the additional green waste service. The pilot Green Waste Barrel Program began in the southwestern portion of Mesa in the summer of 1996. The goals of the pilot program were to obtain data on green waste diversion rates, willingness of residents to participate, collection costs and efficiencies and availability of vendors to process the material. On July 29, 1996 the City began collecting green waste barrels at the curb from 157 residents. Based on its success, citywide implementation began in March 1998 and was completed in February 1999. There are over 23,000 barrels being serviced to date. Staff initially estimated that approximately 14% of residents would participate. Present calculations indicate that approximately 23% of residents are participating in the program and the number of green waste barrels requested averages approximately 80 per week. Since inception, the program has diverted over 27,000 tons of green waste material. The revenue stream generated from the nominal $3.00 per month fee charged to residents generated approximately $645,000 in FY00-01. Additionally, the City pays approximately $3.50 less per ton for all green waste material that is hauled to the Salt River Landfill's green waste mulching area resulting in a savings of approximately $85,500 versus landfilling the green waste material. Finally, the City was also able to utilize existing equipment and staff for implementation of the program. Additional equipment purchases have since been incurred to accommodate citywide growth.