2020 Assessment and Redesign of Residential Solid Waste and Recycling System
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2020 Assessment and Redesign of Residential Solid Waste and Recycling System Final Report Prepared by February 22, 2021 City of Cleveland TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................. 1 II. CURRENT SOLID WASTE PROGRAM ANALYSIS ......................................................... 5 A. Collection Metrics and Finances ............................................................................... 5 B. Division Finances.....................................................................................................11 C. Collection Route Performance .................................................................................11 D. Recycling Audits ......................................................................................................14 E. Bulky Waste Collection ............................................................................................21 F. Yard Waste and Organics ........................................................................................28 G. Special Collections ..................................................................................................28 H. Current KPI Dashboard ...........................................................................................30 I. Staffing ....................................................................................................................31 J. Equipment and Maintenance ...................................................................................34 K. Education, Outreach, and Public Communications ..................................................39 L. Customer Service ....................................................................................................39 M. Illegal Dumping and Enforcement ............................................................................41 N. City Ordinances .......................................................................................................42 O. Community Engagement .........................................................................................43 P. City Engagement .....................................................................................................49 III. COMPARABLE PROGRAMS, MARKETS, & TECHNOLOGIES .....................................78 A. Comparable Community Survey Summary ..............................................................78 B. Recycle Materials Market Analysis ..........................................................................87 C. Regional MRF Infrastructure ....................................................................................99 D. Public Recycling Drop-Off Infrastructure ................................................................ 106 E. Household Rate Analysis ....................................................................................... 107 F. Recyclables Processing Analysis ........................................................................... 109 IV. COLLECTION PROGRAM OPTIONS AND FUTURE KPIS ........................................... 111 A. Weekly Trash ......................................................................................................... 111 B. Weekly Recycle ..................................................................................................... 111 C. Bi-Weekly Recycle ................................................................................................. 112 D. Opt-In Recycling .................................................................................................... 113 E. Recyclable Material Acceptance ............................................................................ 114 F. Monthly Bulk – with Appointments ......................................................................... 117 G. Bi-Weekly Bulk – with Appointments ...................................................................... 118 H. Weekly Bulk Collection with Appointments ............................................................ 119 I. Weekly Bulk without Appointments ........................................................................ 119 J. Expanded Drop-offs ............................................................................................... 120 K. Super Center Drop-offs .......................................................................................... 121 L. Regional Drop-off System ...................................................................................... 122 M. Weekly Yard Waste Collection ............................................................................... 123 N. Appointment-Based Yard Waste Collection ........................................................... 124 O. Station-Based Special Material Collection ............................................................. 125 P. Collection Options Summary ................................................................................. 126 Q. Alternate Solid Waste Management Technologies ................................................. 130 V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................. 144 A. Collection Program Recommendations .................................................................. 145 B. Best Management Practice Recommendations ..................................................... 148 VI. CITY SUMMARY OF APPROVED RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................... 176 A. Collection Program Recommendations .................................................................. 176 B. Best Management Practices Recommendations .................................................... 177 i Assessment of Solid Waste System C. Next Steps ............................................................................................................. 178 Appendix A Recycle Cart Audit Pictures Appendix B Recycle Stream at Transfer Station Audit Pictures Appendix C Residential Focus Group Engagement Report Appendix D Blank Survey Form Appendix E Survey Summary Appendix F Unverified Processors and End Users Appendix G Public Drop-off Locations Appendix H Sustainability Cleveland Residential Survey Data ii Assessment of Solid Waste System City of Cleveland I. INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Cleveland (City) commissioned this report to evaluate the solid waste and recyclables collection program operated by the Waste Collection Department of the City. The core focus of the Assessment and Redesign of Residential Solid Waste and Recycling System Study (Study) was to fully understand how the City currently operates the program and then develop specific recommendations to improve the program. The City hired GT Environmental, Inc. (GT) to conduct the Study. GT worked with two sub- contractors on parts of the Study including the Maria Heckman Group (MBE/FBE/CSB) for certain field work data collection and Illuminology for the residential focus group process. The Study includes the following specific tasks that were designed to understand how the City operates and then provide a pathway to develop specific recommendations for improvement: Task 1 – Information Request This task included the necessary data and information requests from the City to fully understand how current and past operations occur. Task 2 – Kick-Off Meeting A project kick-off meeting was conducted with City management and staff to review the scope of work, information request and goals/objectives of the project. Discussion also included pre-planning for the field work conducted later in the following tasks. Task 3 – Current Programs and Services Review A complete review of the Division of Waste Collection operations and programs was conducted for calendar year 2019. Additional historical review was also conducted. The objective of this task was to define how the City currently operated its main programs such as trash, recycle and bulk collection, special materials, and yard waste as well as enforcement, education/awareness, fleet management, staff management, ordinances, and other activities. Task 4 – Recycle Audits This task involved a combination of reviewing current recycling practices by residents through cart inspections and visual inspection of recycle truck loads. In addition, a desk top audit was conducted by collecting recycle audit data and information from communities across the United States. 1 Assessment of Solid Waste System City of Cleveland Task 5 – Collection Route Performance This task involved the evaluation of how trash, recycle and bulk routes are currently operated by the City. Targeted routes were followed to collect key performance and time motion data. In addition, transfer station data was evaluated to understand route efficiencies based on time stamp data from when trucks leave and arrive at the Ridge Road transfer station. Task 6 – Bulky Waste Collection Program Analysis The current bulk program was evaluated in this task to understand current and past operations. Task 7 – Auxiliary Services Review This task included evaluating current programs for special materials such as household hazardous waste, scrap tires, electronic waste, and yard waste. Task 8 – Current KPIs Key performance indicators are a way to understand how individual or overall program performance. KPIs can be compared to other cities or from the City as it improves its programs over time. This section defined the current KPIs for the City for 2019, and an interactive dashboard was created for management to track ongoing