HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-19-1991 City Council staff reportO 0
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13777 FRUITVALE AVENUE . SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA 95070
(408) 867 -3438
Meeting Date: June 19, 1991
Category: New Business
From: Environmental Programs Manager
Subject: Conceptual Approval of the 1991 -92
Solid Waste Management Program
RECOMMENDATION•
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Karen Anderson
Martha Clevenger
Willem Kohler
Victor Monia
Francis Stutzman
1. That the City Council take minute action to conceptually
approve the 1991 -92 Solid Waste Management Program. This includes
several new refuse disposal service options that would be included
in the current rate review process.
2. That the community be notified using the Community Group
Notification List (about 85 labels).
3. That a display ad be included in the Saratoga News.
BACKGROUND:
Refuse collection and disposal fees are structured with the goal of
creating a total revenue stream to cover the cost of solid waste
management services in our community. In the current fiscal year,
costs are charged to the ratepayers. However, a portion of the
Household Hazardous Waste Collection event, Solid Waste Management
Program Staff, and the Tanner Program were approved for funding
from the City's General Fund. The proposed Fiscal Year 1991 -92
Budget assumes that all solid waste management costs will be borne
by the ratepayers. This report provides information regarding
current and potential services. Any new programs must be paid for
by the ratepayers unless Council funds them with General Fund
monies. Figures are provided for twelve months.
The impetus for the comprehensive Integrated Solid Waste Management
Program hereby presented, and developed by Staff, results from the
following:
Printed on recycled paper.
A. Legislation
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AB 939 mandates 25 percent diversion goals for all
jurisdictions by 1995 and 50 percent by the year 2000. In
1988, Santa Clara County adopted an amendment to the County
Solid Waste Management Plan which set a goal of reducing the
amount of waste disposed of in landfills by 25 percent by
1995.
B. Landfill costs
Extending the life of the landfill as long as possible is a
desired goal as it will assist in postponing the need for
seeking other landfill alternatives; it will also assist in
managing costs. Costs for the disposal of garbage has
increased from $16.55 per ton in July of 1986 to $30.36 per
ton beginning July 1, 1991.
C. Increased Awareness
Growing awareness by citizens of environmental issues
including, but not limited to, the problems of refuse
disposal. As a result, a significant percentage of our
community members recognize the need to institute and
participate in such programs as recycling to protect and
conserve our environment.
DISCUSSION•
The West Valley Cities' Rate Review Committee is in the process of
preparing recommendations for 1991 -92 refuse collection rate
adjustments. In addition to the rates necessary to support refuse
collection and disposal during 1991 -92, staff is currently
developing recommendations for a comprehensive Integrated Waste
Management Program, that would include financing the following
programs in the 1991 -92 refuse rates:
1. Multi- family Recycling Program
2. Residential Curbside Yard Waste Recycling
3. Commercial Cardboard Recycling
4. AB 939 Requirements /Implementation
5. Household Hazardous Waste
6. City Staff Support of Solid Waste Program
7. Continued support - West Valley Cities' Solid Waste Program
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Manager
8. Senior Citizens Spring & Fall Cleanup
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Financing of these programs through the rate structure will be in
addition to the increase that is necessary in the residential and
commercial rates to cover the current refuse collection services.
This report includes estimated costs of these programs and the
effect on the refuse collection rates. Based on the approved
programs, Staff will provide recommendations for residential,
commercial, and drop -off box rate adjustments for the Council's
consideration in July.
This report provides detailed information regarding Saratoga's
1990 -91 Integrated Waste Management Program and a brief description
of potential additional programs for Council's consideration.
INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM - STATUS REPORT
I. COMBINED WEST VALLEY CITIES SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
A. Program Goal
The goal of the combined West Valley Solid Waste
Management Program is to provide a centralized, well
coordinated and comprehensive program for the West Valley
Cities to meet the State and Federal requirements as well
as local objectives regarding solid waste issues.
B. West Valley Solid Waste Program Manager
In order to accomplish this goal, a West Valley Solid
Waste Program Manager, Vera Dahle, was hired on
February 1, 1991. Supervision is provided by Saratoga's
Environmental Programs Manager.
It was originally anticipated that this position would be
able to manage all aspects of the Solid Waste Program for
the West Valley Cities. However, due to the tight
schedule allowed for completing studies required by
AB 939 legislation, Vera has been working exclusively on
activities necessary to satisfy the AB 939 requirements.
City staff has continued to handle the daily refuse
franchise issues, the rate review process, and the
household hazardous waste collection event.
As the AB 939 studies are completed, programs needed in
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order to meet the waste stream reduction requirement of
AB 939 will be identified and will need to be developed.
The West Valley Solid Waste Program Manager will be
developing these programs and working on their
implementation within the West Valley Cities.
It does not appear that the workload for handling the
AB 939 requirements will diminish within the next few
years. Although the coordinated approach to handling the
Solid Waste Program in the West Valley Cities has avoided
duplication of many efforts among the four cities, the
increase in activities required in the Solid Waste field
has more than kept pace with our increased staffing.
Additional assistance for the West Valley Solid Waste
Program Manager might be needed to allow this coordinated
approach to include the daily refuse franchise issues,
the rate review process, and the development and
implementation and monitoring of programs necessary to
reach our 25% waste stream diversion requirement.
The Rate Review Committee will be reviewing the necessity
of additional staffing for the West Valley Solid Waste
Program during the upcoming rate review process. Any
recommendations for increased staffing for 1991 -92 will
be submitted to the Council.
II. AB 939 COMPLIANCE
A. Background
AB 939 legislation requires that 25% of the waste stream
be diverted from the landfills by January 1, 1995, and
that 50% of the waste stream be diverted by January 1,
2000. In order to assure that progress is made on a
countywide basis toward meeting these goals, the
California Integrated Waste Management Board ( CIWMB) has
adopted regulations for development of a Countywide
Integrated Waste Management Plan. The countywide plan
integrates documents referred to as Source Reduction and
Recycling Elements (SRRE) from each individual city
within the County; they are due to the CIWMB on
January 1, 1994.
B. Source Reduction and Recycling Elements (SRRE)
Individual cities are responsible for preparing the SRRE
for their jurisdictions. Each city's SRRE is due to the
County by July 1, 1991, but current legislation supports
extending this deadline to January 1, 1992.
Each SRRE is to contain ten components. These are:
1. Solid Waste Generation Study (Disposal & Diversion)
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2. *Source Reduction Component
3. *Recycling Component
4. *Composting Component
5. *Special Waste Component
6. *Education and Public Information Component
7. *Solid Waste Facility Capacity Component
8. Funding Component
9. Integration Component
10. *Household Hazardous Waste Element
Those items preceded by the " *" will be prepared in a
generic form by the County, but will need to be expanded
and tailored to fit the needs of each individual city,
based on the results of their Solid Waste Generation
Study.
The information derived from the Solid Waste Generation
Study will be used by each City to develop components 2 -
10. These components will dictate what types of programs
should be implemented in order to reach the 25% waste
stream reduction goal. The process for developing each
city's SRRE is to include a minimum 30 -day review period
by the CIWMB and the IGC Solid Waste Technical Advisory
Committee, an environmental review, as well as a public
hearing prior to the adoption of the City's SRRE.
C. Schedule for Completion of SRRE
The following is the schedule for completion of
Saratoga's SRRE:
March - September 1991 Complete Solid Waste Generation
Study, Develop remaining SRRE
components.
October 1991 Request environmental review - post
negative declaration.
October 1991 Submit SRRE to CIWMB and other
agencies for review. Begin minimum
30 -day SRRE review period. Review
by Saratoga's Integrated Solid Waste
Management Task Force.
November 1991 Revise SRRE per input from reviews.
December 1991 Adopt final SRRE at public hearing.
Begin implementation of components.
January 1992 Submit Saratoga's SRRE to County for
integration in Countywide Plan.
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October 1993 Draft Countywide Integrated Waste
Management Plan submitted to cities
for approval.
January 1994 Countywide Integrated Waste
Management Plan submitted to CIWMB.
III. REFUSE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL COSTS
The cost of refuse collection services are established
following a review process by the Rate Review Committee
consisting of representatives of the cities of Monte Sereno,
Campbell, Saratoga, and Town of Los Gatos. The Committee
meets independently and then together with representatives of
Green Valley to discuss and negotiate the cost of providing
refuse collection services to our communities. Cost savings
measures are also reviewed with the goal of reducing
expenditures and thereby reducing costs to the ratepayers.
A. Landfill Costs
The total increase in tipping costs has increased from
$16.55 effective 7/1/86 to $30.36 effective 7/1/91 for an
increase of 82 percent. Increases in the cost of refuse
disposal are due primarily to the increased numbers of
taxes and charges being added to landfill costs and
additional regulatory requirements imposed on landfills.
The increase in surcharges has gone from $0.07 in 7/1/88
(less than one -half of one percent) to $5.54 in 7/1/91.
Surcharges comprise approximately 18.4 percent of total
tipping fees effective this July. The following is a
breakdown of taxes and fees related to disposal costs:
Base Rate:
Tipping Fee Surcharges:
S.C. County Inspection
S.C. County Planning
Eastin Bill
AB 939
S.J. Business Tax
S.J. AB 939 Fee
S.J. Inspection Tax
Total Surcharges
Total Per Ton Disposal
Costs
711/88 7 1 89 711/90 7 1 91
18.42
19.89
22.24
24.78
-
.16
.29
.29
.07
.15
.15
.15
-
.65
.65
.65
-
-
.75
1.00
-
-
3.00
3.00
-
-
-
.25
-
-
.24
.20
0.07
.96
5.08
5.54
18.49
20.85
27.32
30.32
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B. Collection Costs
The Green Valley Disposal Company (GVDC) budget for FY
1991 -92 reflects an overall 10.6% increase in costs over
the current fiscal year budget. The cost of refuse
collection for Saratoga has increased 6 %. However,
Saratoga's segment of the GVDC Refuse Collection Program
reflects a shortfall in revenues. This shortfall
resulted from the fact that last year's rate increase
was not effective until September 1990, and was not
applied retroactively. This resulted in an overall
increase for Saratoga of 8.3 %. To meet the projected
expenses, Saratoga will need to generate $3,080,370 in
revenue.
The actual recommended refuse rate adjustments for FY 91-
92 will be submitted for Council's approval on July 3,
1991. New rates would become effective in September
1991.
IV. CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM
A. Background
The four West Valley Cities each signed a five -year
agreement with Green Valley Recycling for provision of
curbside recycling services to single family homes and
multi - family complexes of four units or less. The net
cost for the program is $0.82 per household per month and
is currently incorporated in the residential refuse rate.
This rate is firm for the full five years of the
contract. In October, Santa Clara County entered into an
agreement with Green Valley recycling for curbside
recycling services in the unincorporated areas served by
Green Valley Disposal.
B. Materials Collected
The program began collecting newspaper, aluminum, tin and
bimetal cans, glass, P.E.T. plastic, corrugated
cardboard, aluminum scrap, and motor oil. In August,
glossy magazines were added to the materials collected by
the program. In December of 1990, Green Valley added
Christmas trees to the program, so that they could be
recycled instead of landfilled. This spring, phone books
were added to the curbside program.
The City is now in the unique position of
enjoying one of the most comprehensive
curbside recycling program in the Country.
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C. Amounts Collected
The City's Curbside Recycling Program has now been in
operation for just over one year, serving 9,070
residential units. The program began February 1990, and
has recycled over 2,500 tons of material in Saratoga,
during its first year of operation at a cost of about
$89,240 for FY 1990 -91.
A total of over 52, 000 tons of waste was generated by
residential customers in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte
Sereno, Saratoga, and unincorporated County areas. Of
that total, about 5,200 tons, or about 10% of the
residential waste stream was recycled by the West Valley
Cities' curbside recycling program.
D. Participation Rate
Participation rates have increased since the programs
started; Saratoga's participation rates average 82% which
is the highest participation rate in the county. These
rates are estimates and are determined by counting the
number of set -outs for one week during the month,
multiplying by 2.5, and then dividing the number by the
number of eligible households (9,070). This factor is
widely used and accepted and reflects the theory that
people do not place their recyclable materials at the
curb every week. Rather, they wait until bins are full.
The use of this multiplier enables the programs to
estimate the number of households participating each
month.
Participation is, of course, the key to a successful
program. We are not certain of the number of households
that may not participate in the curbside program because
they donate recyclable materials to a non -prof it group or
take them to a buy -back center. We will know more about
types and amounts of waste generated once our Waste
Generation Study is complete. The information acquired
through this process and the other AB 939 planning
requirements should be helpful to us in evaluating this
issue.
E. Program Cost
The current cost for the curbside recycling program is
$89,240 or $0.82 per household per month which is
recovered as a surcharge to the residential rates.
The West Valley Cities are interested in adding more
items to those now recycled at the curb. As markets can
be found by Green Valley for additional items, they can
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be added to the curbside program. Another item that we
hope to evaluate in the future is mixed paper such as
"junk mail ".
V. HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM
A. March 30th Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event
On March 30, 1991, the cities of Campbell, Los Gatos,
Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and portions of the
unincorporated county areas held a joint household
hazardous waste collection event. This event was planned
and coordinated by the City of Saratoga's Environmental
Programs Manager, and was held at the West Valley
Community College parking lot. The hours of operation
were 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
A total of 1,473 cars arrived to turn in a variety of
household hazardous wastes. Six hundred sixty -seven of
these cars originated from the City of Saratoga.
Greenfield Environmental was the contractor and provided
approximately 80 workers to remove the wastes from the
cars as they made their way past the unloading tables.
Waste oil, batteries, and other wastes as appropriate
were collected to be recycled. Other wastes were "lab
packed" for transportation to the appropriate disposal
site. The cost for each jurisdiction was based on the
percentage of respective cars participating in the event.
The average cost per car was $119.70. The City of
Saratoga's share of the total cost was $82,058.97 not
including staff time.
Waits to offload hazardous materials ranged from
approximately 20 minutes to a maximum of 70 minutes.
Each car was given a registration card to complete to
ascertain residency, and was given a handout regarding
proper disposal of hazardous material.
B. Countywide Program
Council has indicated their support for development of a
countywide household hazardous waste collection program.
Development of this type of countywide program will be an
integral part of the AB 939 requirements and would
provide the residents of Saratoga with a more desirable
method of disposing of household hazardous materials.
C. Financing of Household Hazardous Waste Program 1991 -92
The City's current 1990 -91 budget includes $107,000 for
the household hazardous waste collection program. The
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City is charging $.45 per month per residential household
which is about $49,000 per year. The remainder of the
costs of the program was funded from the General Fund.
The estimated cost of $193,860 for FY 1992 is proposed to
be recovered by increasing the surcharge to the rate
payers (of this amount $156,000 is collection and
disposal cost).
D. Tanner Program
During FY 1990 -91, the County has proposed to meet
objectives listed in the Hazardous Waste Reduction Work
Plan: workshops have been held for small quantity
generators, information and referral had been provided to
businesses and households, and the countywide Household
Hazardous Waste Program has been developed and
transferred to the Environmental Health Division for
implementation. The City's contribution to this program
is $6,500.
VI. RATE REVIEW PROCESS
Status
The Rate Review Committee received a variety of financial
information from GVDC, including 1989 -90 Actual Expenditures
and Revenues by jurisdiction, proposed 1991 -92 Budget and
1990 -91 six -month status, as well as a variety of supporting
data. The Committee also reviewed the audited FY 1989 -90
GVDC's financial statements. We have met several times to
review budget proposals and make various necessary changes.
After negotiations, a budget for FY 1991 -92 was agreed upon.
The Rate Review Committee negotiated a fixed budget for refuse
costs for FY 1990 -91. GVDC will be allowed to keep any
balance; likewise, it will have to absorb any cost over -runs.
The fixed budget was agreed upon to provide incentive to GVDC
to keep their costs low. This has worked to our advantage.
For example, the unanticipated fuel increase resulting from
the recent Persian Gulf War is being absorbed by Green Valley
Disposal and not passed on to the ratepayers.
POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS TO BE CONSIDERED
I. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
A. Multi- Family Recycling Program
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In January 1991, a multi - family recycling program began
in Los Gatos. Green Valley Recycling Company (GVDC) is
providing this service at a cost of about $60,000 for
1990 -91 (6 months of operation) . The cost of the program
was added to commercial refuse rates effective August 1,
1990.
The program serves about 2,200 units in 114 complexes.
One of the complexes has 120 units, a few have
approximately 20 units, but most of the complexes contain
eight or less units. Two 95- gallon containers have been
provided at each complex which are placed next to refuse
bins. One container is for newspaper. The second is for
commingled glass, aluminum, tin and bimetal cans, and
P.E.T. plastic. Individual units are not provided with
containers.
The Los Gatos multi- family program collects one day per
week and all multi - family complexes are collected on that
day.
GVRC's Coordinator supervises the program and it is
served by one driver and one helper. On the other days
of the week the driver works for the residential curbside
program and the helper is part of the yard staff. The
program purchased one truck and the major capital
investment consisted of a piece of processing equipment
(conveyer @ $80,000). The Town of Los Gatos asked GVRC
to develop the multi - family program. Unlike the curbside
program, City staff did not define specifications for the
program and obtain quotes from other contractors to
provide the service.
GVRC hired an employee to canvass the multi- family
occupancies, determine appropriate collection methods,
containers, etc. The Town of Los Gatos did not enter
into a separate contract for the multi - family program,
but is relying on the existing refuse franchise agreement
as the basis for provision of service/ collection of fees.
The duration of this arrangement, such as termination
coinciding with refuse franchise agreement, or evaluated
year to year was not defined.
The Los Gatos program has only been in operation for six
months. During February, it collected over 10,000 pounds
of material per week or about 5 pounds per unit per week.
About 60% of the volume, by weight is newsprint and about
30% is glass.
As a part of the rate review process, GVDC has provided
Campbell and Saratoga with a proposal for extending the
multi - family program to these jurisdictions. This
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provides a cost estimate to include in the 1991 -92 rates,
if desired. The City needs to decide during 1991 -92
whether to simply extend the GVRC multi - family program to
Saratoga or review other alternatives.
There are 505 multi - family units in Saratoga that are not
included in the residential curbside recycling program
because they are considered commercial accounts.
According to GVRC Recycling Coordinator, estimated cost
of serving Los Gatos, Saratoga, and Campbell with the
multi- family program is $1.24 per unit per month, or
about $9,520 for a full year. The reason the cost per
unit is so much more than the cost per unit of the
curbside program is that the multi - family program
produces less material per unit, therefore the recycling
revenues to offset costs are much less, leaving a much
higher net cost. In addition, there are $5,150 in
start -up costs in the first year.
B. Residential Curbside Yard Waste Recycling
In order to comply with the goals of AB 939 to reduce the
waste stream that currently is disposed at the landfill
by 25% by 1995, Saratoga will need to consider additional
means to divert wastes. It is estimated that yard waste
comprises between 30% and 40% of the residential waste
stream. Current residential curbside recycling is
diverting about 18% of the total waste stream at an 82%
participation rates. However, the percentage of yard
waste in the total solid waste flow in Saratoga will be
better defined when the Waste Generation Studies (SRRE)
are completed. GVRC has provided an estimated cost to
provide curbside yard -waste collection and processing to
all the residential accounts. The cost is $484,290 or
$4.45 per household per month, if Los Gatos and Saratoga
participate. This cost reflects collection costs only
since the cost of processing the yard waste is offset by
the savings in landfill tipping fees when at least 6,500
tons of yard waste are collected, which is expected to
occur if the participation rate for the two jurisdictions
reach or exceed 70% participation.
Staff investigated the elements of a yard waste program.
Discussions with Green Valley Disposal Company resulted
in a Yard Waste Program with the elements listed below.
There are advantages and disadvantages to the program, as
outlined. The approach is presented for the purpose of
estimating costs, only. A program for the West Valley
Cities may vary based on the consensus of the cities.
o Serve all residential units receiving residential
garbage service from Green Valley Disposal
C.
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Weekly pick -up
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Collect yard waste, including grass, but excluding
such things as fruits, vegetables, and poison oak
and ivy.
o Containers provided by resident. Reasons for
containerizing yard waste instead of using the
"claw" method (which would cost $3.16 for the two
cities if DOB boxes were used in the mountain
areas) :
- cleaner appearance
- terrain in some areas not suited for leaving
at the curb
- limited street widths
- need for "no parking" in congested areas
- eliminate the need to increase the street
sweeping budget
o Yard waste processed for use as:
- bio -mass fuel (wood chips)
- soil amendment (wood fines)
- compost
o Revenues from wood chips and wood fines and savings
in the disposal (tipping) fees should cover the
cost of fuel, labor, tractor, trailer, maintenance,
etc., to process and haul the material to markets.
GVRC has also proposed the use of the claw method which
is less expensive ($3.16 for Saratoga and Los Gatos, if
the mountain areas were served by DOB boxes) but would
require all four West Valley Cities to: i) adopt the
method; ii) have street sweeping; iii) allow people to
leave material on the street longer than 24 hours; iv)
leave visible marks on streets even though cause no
structural damage.
Commercial Cardboard Recycling
This program is submitted for consideration in response
to requests from commercial accounts. The cost for this
program for Saratoga, assuming that the four West Valley
jurisdictions participate in the program is $8,790 or
$3.13 per account. For comparison purposes, the average
monthly cost of a three -yard bin with weekly pick -up is
$114.00.
D. HDPE Plastic Recycling
In response to customer requests, GVRC is proposing to
add HDPE plastic (milk and water jugs) collection to the
E.
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curbside recycling program.
The cost to provide this service to Saratoga would be
$0.24 per household per month or $26,120 per year, and is
based on the following factors:
The revenue from a boxful of HDPE is nominal. Selling
HDPE brings $20.00 per ton. The cost to transport the
material would be over $75.00 per load or $300.00 per
ton. This because of HDPE's light weight and bulkiness,
as compared to other low revenue items such as newspaper
and glass.
Presently all the containers on the recycling vehicles
fill up at approximately the same rate. Because of the
bulkiness of HDPE, the container holding the HDPE would
fill up faster than the other containers. This would
mean extra trips back to the yard to unload.
Presently, residents are placing their two 14- gallon
recycling bins out for collection every 2 to 3 weeks.
With HDPE collection, the "can" bin would fill up faster,
thereby necessitating more stops and more time on the
route.
Having the residents step on the HDPE containers to
reduce their size is not realistic based on other
programs and our experience. The majority of the current
plastic containers come in uncrushed.
The GVRC estimate to provide service to Saratoga if all
the West Valley jurisdictions participate in the program
is $26,120, or $0.24 per household per month, regardless
of whether the other cities participate or not.
Senior Citizen Spring and Fall Cleanup
The cost of providing both Spring and Fall cleanup
service to the 586 Senior Citizen accounts in Saratoga is
$2,600 per year or $0.37 per account.
II. SUMMARY OF PROGRAMS TO BE FINANCED THROUGH 1991 -92 REFUSE
RATES
A. Revenues Based on FY 1990 -91 Rates:
Residential
Refuse Collection & Disposal $1,682,553
HHW Collection ($0.45 /HH /mo.) 48,973
Curbside Recycling ($0.82 /HH /mo.) 89,240
$1,820,766
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Commercial
Collection and Disposal Fees $ 490,239
Drop -Off Boxes (DOB)
Collection and Disposal Fees 671,434
B. Additional Revenue Necessary in FY 1991 -92
Residential
Increase in Collection & Disposal 1/ $ 100,286
Shortfall 1990 -91 2/ 39,407
Additional funds for HHW Collection 115,805
Solid Waste Management 3/ 48,073
Senior Citizen Cleanups (2 per year) 2,600
Curbside Yard Waste Recycling (10 mo) 121,085
Curbside HDPE Plastic Recycling (10 mo) 21,768
NPS 54,427
Total $ 503,451
Commercial
Increase in Collection
Shortfall 1990 -91 2/
Multi - family Recycling
Multi- family Recycling
HHW Collection
Solid Waste Management
Commercial Cardboard R,
NPS
Total
& Disposal 1/ $ 29,220
15,726
(9 mo) 6,141
start -up costs 5,150
29,078
3/ 8,142
acycling (9 mo) 6,592
9,225
$ 109,274
Drop -Off Boxes (DOB)
Increase in Collection & Disposal 1/ $ 40,019
Solid Waste Management 2/ 25,259
NPS 28,597
Total
$ 93,875
Notes on Table
0 1/ Based on 6% GVDC's increase.
0 2/ Based on 1990 -91 revenues. Shortfall due to the
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fact that the 1990 rate increases became effec-
tive in September 1990.
0 3/ Based on actual % of tonnage.
o Items 1/ and 2/ reflect cost increases to provide
current services.
III. VARIABLE CAN RATE SERVICE
A number of years ago Saratoga abandoned metered can service
in favor of unlimited garbage pickup. The passage of AB 939
requires this decision to be revisited. Unlimited service and
recycling and waste reduction are considered by many,
including the State regulators, to be inherently incompatible.
Under the current unlimited service, there is no direct
economic incentive to reduce waste and /or recycle.
Section 18734.3 of Chapter 9 of "Planning Guidelines and
Procedures for Preparing and Revising Countywide Integrated
Waste Management Plans ", states "Each jurisdiction shall
consider source reduction alternatives including but not
limited to rate structure modifications which may include but
are not limited to quantity -based local user fees, which may
include, but are not limited to, variable can rates for
garbage collection services, such as fees based on the number
of containers set out for collection".
There are many problems with switching back, however. The
primary one being how to set rates on a per -can basis to
generate the revenue needed to fund operations. Part of the
metered can program was a semi - annual, cleanup day for
everyone to get rid of big bulky items. Another factor has
been the introduction of the rolling disposal cart (TOTER).
One cart equals three regular cans. Variable can rate would
automatically place all households that use the rolling carts
in the three -can category. Yet our statistics from the hard -
to -serve areas and from Los Gatos (where metered can service
is used) indicate the largest percentage of variable can rate
customers have two -can, not three -can service.
Based on the town of Los Gatos' experience and on current
statistics for Saratoga, which has 9,070 residential accounts,
the anticipated distribution of accounts taking into
consideration that GVDC estimates 60% of the accounts now use
a rolling cart (TOTER), and using Saratoga's hard -to -serve
area data and the Los Gatos experience, the 9,070 accounts
break out as follows:
1 -can
service :
1,260
accounts
2 -can
service :
4,850
accounts
3 -can
service :
1,970
accounts
4 -can
service :
670
accounts
5 -can
service :
320
accounts
•
Page 17
Using the above distribution, but assuming that the majority
of residents will reduce their normal number of cans of
garbage by at least one (this can would be diverted into the
yard -waste program), the rate structure would be about:
1 -can
service :
$10.71
2 -can
service :
$20.42
3 -can
service :
$30.13
4 -can
service :
$39.84
5 -can
service :
$49.55
To generate the same revenue, the cost for the unlimited can
service would be $21.34 a $4.61 increase or 27.6 percent.
This structure rewards waste reduction. In this example, it
also increases the rate for the rolling cart (TOTER) user from
$22.25 a month to $30.13 a month, an increase of $7.88 /mo. or
35.4 percent. It also provides an incentive to recycle by
providing a rate reduction to one- and two -can service users.
The problem, of course, is that there is no way of knowing
what people will actually do. If most choose three -, four -,
and five -can rather than one- or two -can service, revenue
would be much higher than expected.
The variable can rate service and the unlimited curbside yard -
waste recycling programs would be implemented concurrently -
probably on April 1, 1992. The cost for the 3 -month service
would be prorated for FY 1991 -92.
IV. FRANCHISE ISSUES
The detailed review of prior year actual revenues and
expenditures, current year status and upcoming year proposed
budget is very time consuming. Therefore, the Rate Review
Committee planned to review a variety of Franchise Agreement
issues with GVDC which would streamline the rate review
process prior to the beginning the 1991 -92 Rate Review
process. However, due to other solid waste management
activities, the Rate Review Committee has been unable to make
sufficient progress to recommend and implement Franchise
modifications prior to the current rate review process.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
This report assumes that all costs for Saratoga's Integrated Waste
Management services would be borne by the consumers, i.e., the
integrated waste management costs would be fully recovered through
the rubbish rate charges, instead of being funded by general funds.
The final adjusted rates will be calculated based on the services
Council opts to offer at the June 19, 1991 meeting. They will be
•
•
Page 18
submitted to the Council for approval on July 3, 1991. This is
also the date to receive public input at a public hearing.
To illustrate the impact of the proposed additional programs, the
rates for residential unlimited service in the flatland, for
commercial service and for drop -off boxes (DOB) are presented
below. The components of the basic rate for unlimited service in
flatland areas are also shown to enable a better assessment of the
impact of the different services and other fees.
A. Residential Unlimited Service Rate
The overall increase in the residential rates is 27.6 percent.
The unlimited can service, flatland would be $21.34. The
rates for the hard -to -serve would be increased in the same
proportion. The components of the unlimited flatland service
are:
UNLIMITED SERVICE RATE DISTRIBUTION
91/92 Budget 91/92 Budget
Current Spread Over Spread Over
90/91 12 months 10 months
- - - - - -- ----- - - - - -- ----- - - - - --
California - Eastin bill $ 0.11 $ 0.11 $ 0.11
California - Sher bill 0.13 0.17 0.20
Comprehensive recycling 0.82 0.82 0.82
County - landfill inspection
fee
0.05
0.05
0.05
County - planning fee
0.03
0.03
0.03
Garbage collection -
unlimited service
10.21
10.82
10.94
HDPE recycling
0.24
0.24
Landfill disposal
4.14
4.57
4.66
San Jose - business tax
0.50
0.50
0.50
San Jose - landfill inspection
fee
0.04
0.04
0.04
Saratoga - franchise fee
1.55
1.69
1.71
Saratoga - household hazard-
ous waste
0.45
1.51
1.73
Saratoga - non -point source
0.50
0.60
Page 19
Saratoga - solid waste man-
agement 0.44 0.53
Senior Citizen subsidy 0.50 0.59 0.61
Yard waste recycling 1.11 1.34
Commercial subsidy (1.80) (1.85) (1.84)
- - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - --
$16.73 $21.34 $22.25
/hh /mo /hh /mo /hh /mo
B. Commercial Service
The overall increase in the commercial rates is 22.3 %. The
table below illustrates the rates that reflect all the
proposed programs.
Bin Size
------------------------------------------------
# of Dumps
Per Week 1 1/3 cu yds 2 cu yds 3 cu yds 6 cu yds
-- - - - - -- ------ - - - - -- -- - - - - -- -- - - - - -- -- - - - - --
1 $70.04 $90.01 $162.73 $281.16
2 120.89 196.17 285.01 513.68
3 170.98 314.75 413.14 797.46
4 221.90 366.37 568.46 1,082.54
5 272.83 451.67 669.40 1,337.11
6 323.23 669.25 826.43 1,590.76
Commercial Can
$8.13
C. Drop -off Boxes (DOB)
The overall increase in the rates for DOBs is 14.0 %. The rates
reflecting the proposed programs are:
•
Box Size
6 cu yds 18 cu yds 30 cu yds
$123.56 $196.08 $285.44
PREPARED BY:
Isabel S. Gloeg , P.E.
Environmental Programs Manager
APPROVED BY:
E'. P�Z�
,fHarry/jR. Peacock
City Wanager
052.ISG
Page 20
40 cu yds
$321.48