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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/2001 - Waste Reduction and Recycling Advisory Commission AL E Joanna Foote To: WRRC Subject: November Meeting Packet AGENDA WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA Eagan Municipal Center City Council Chambers THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2001 5:30 p.m. * ** I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA (5:30 -5:32) II. APPROVE SEPTEMBER 20, 2001 MEETING MINUTES (5:32 -5:35) III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. ORGANIZATIONAL BUSINESS A. Expiration of Member Terms (5:35 -5:50 V. NEW BUSINESS • A. America Recycles Day Update (5:50 -6:05) B. RAM/SWANA Conference Update (6:05 -6:10) 1. Update on "Improving Recycling of Residential Paper" Grant C. Electronics Collection at Eco -Site (6:10 -6:20) D. Article for Resident Newsletter E. Community Center -Green Building Update (6:20 -6:40) VII. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting- November 15, 2001 (6:40) • 1 The mission The mission of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Advisory Commission is to proactively assist the Eagan City Council by educating, encouraging and assisting the community in reducing and managing waste in an environmentally sound manner. MEMO TO: MEMBERS OF THE EAGAN WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION FROM: COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR FOOTE DATE: NOVEMBER 8, 2001 SUBJECT: EAGAN ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 15, 2001 A regular meeting of the Eagan Waste Reduction & Recycling Commission will be held on Thursday November 15, 2001 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall. • Please contact Joanna Foote at (651) 681 -4604 by Tuesday, November 13th, to indicate if you cannot attend. I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: approve, deny or modify agenda II. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 20th MEETING MINUTES A copy of the minutes of the Waste Reduction Commission meeting of September 20, 2001 is included as an attachment. WRAC minutes for September '01... ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: approve, deny or modify September 20, 2001 minutes. III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. ORGANIZATIONAL BUSINESS FACTS: According to our records, the terms of the following members will expire in January, 2002: Patricia Hurd, Resident Linda Merkel, Resident Ron Moening, Hauler Don Armborst, Alternate If these members wish to reapply, an application form is attached which may be completed and returned to the Administration Department at City Hall no later than December 14, 2001. Members may also give this application form to other interested members of the public who may wish to apply. background info form.doc V. NEW BUSINESS A. America Recycles Day November 15 is America Recycles Day. Recycling Coordinator Bast will update the Commission on activities taking place this year. A newsletter was prepared and sent to all Minnesota Schools (including all Eagan Schools) and bast will provide copies of this information for members. 3 B. RAM/SWANA Conference Recycling Coordinator Bast has been working to plan the Recycling Association of Minnesota/Solid Waste Association of North America's annual conference and was a presenter at the conference regarding Eagan's Paper Recycling Project. She will update the Commission on conference highlights and the responses related to the Paper Project. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Discussion C. Update on Electronic Recycling at Eco -Site As discussed at the September meeting, electronics recycling will begin at the Eco -site. Member Tapper and Recycling Coordinator Bast will update the group on the current plans. D. Article for Resident Newsletter Member Sammon has prepared an article which she would like to have included in the Experience Eagan Newsletter. She would like the Commission and staff to review and provide comments regarding the attached article. Recycling article - sammon.doc E. Community Center -Green Building Update The park and Recreation staff working with the Central Park/Community Center project will provide an update regarding the project. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Discussion VII. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting- The members suggested taking the month of December off as the regularly scheduled meeting would fall on December 20. Therefore the next regularly scheduled meeting will be held January 17, 2002 and will be the last meeting of the Commission year. 4 Subject to Approval MINUTES OF THE WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION Eagan, Minnesota September 20, 2001 A regular meeting of the Eagan Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission was held on Thursday, September 20, 2001 at 5:45 p.m. in a meeting room at BFI Recyclery in Inver Grove Heights. Present were Ron Moening, Gary Hansen, Clint Hooppaw, Kari Sammon, Linda Merkel, Donald Armborst, John Tapper and Doug Link. Absent from the meeting were Rick Patraw and Patricia Hurd. Also present were Recycling Intern Seubert, Recycling Coordinator Bast and Communications Coordinator Foote. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The approval of the September 20 agenda was motioned by Hooppaw. It was seconded by Tapper with all members voting in favor. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The approval of the August 31, 2001 minutes was motioned by Hansen. It was seconded by Hooppaw with all members present voting in favor. NEW BUSINESS A. Markets Update Due to an unexpected conflict, the guest speaker could not attend the meeting. The Commission decided to reschedule this item for another meeting. B. Review of County Grant Application The Commission received copies of the 2002 Community Landfill Abatement Grant Application for the Cities of Burnsville /Eagan in the meeting packet. The approval of the County Grant application by Eagan's City Council is scheduled for October 2" Hooppaw asked if the clean -up event marked in the application was for both cities. Bast stated the clean -up event was for Burnsville. The Commission discussed the possibility of having a clean -up event in Eagan at the Dakota County Eco -Site for items that are difficult to recycle. Tapper stated Gopher Resources would consider offering year - round electronics recycling at the Dakota County Eco -Site for a fee by partnering with Materials Processing Corporation or Asset Recovery Corporation. A motion was made by Hooppaw to research the cost and feasibility of an electronics - recycling event for America Recycles Day (November 15 The motion was seconded by Merkel with all members voting in favor. The approval of the County Grant application was motioned by Tapper. The motion was seconded by Link with all members voting in favor. OLD BUSINESS A. Update on "Improving Recycling of Residential Paper" Grant A rough summary of the bin audit results was distributed to Commission members. The Commission discussed these preliminary results. B. Review of Draft Education Piece about Processing A motion was made by Tapper to deny the draft educational piece at this time. The motion was seconded by Hooppaw with all members voting in favor. Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2 /September 20, 2001 ADJOURNMENT Moening moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. It was seconded by Merkel with all members present voting in favor. Date Secretary CITY OF EAGAN BACKGROUND INFORMATION FORM *Please type or print clearly in ink Name Date In order that the Mayor and Councilmembers have a better understanding of your background and interests, please provide the following information: (Attach extra sheets if necessary). Home Address Phone (H) Zip Code How long have you lived in Eagan? years Employer Occupation Phone (W) Please indicate which Committees /Commissions you are applying for. List only those you would be seriously interested in serving on. 1st Choice 2 Choice 3 Choice 4 Choice Prior experience on City Commissions, City Boards, etc. (Please complete both sides of application) Provide a short paragraph summarizing why you are seeking an appointment to a Commission in the City of Eagan. Briefly describe your background, experience and any other information not previously given which you believe should be considered regarding the appointment you are seeking. Return to: City Administrator Date Received City of Eagan (For Office Use Only) 3830 Pilot Knob Road Eagan, MN 55122 Telephone: (651) 681 -4613 Fax: (651) 681 -4612 • Hi, my name is Kari Sammon. I am currently a stay -at -home mom, a resident of Eagan, and a member of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Commission. Being on the commission has been a great way for me to be involved and have an active response to a wake -up call. This past year, I felt a need to educate myself further. One of the subjects I was interested about was environmental awareness. I decided to get involved with Eagan's commission, which felt good, especially being a stay -at -home mom. I also did some reading. Some of the ignorance, which had plagued me, began to lift. I am on the commission to represent the typical resident of Eagan. I'm a nurse by trade and do not have a background in environmental issues. However, I am a concerned citizen. Some of the language has been beyond me, but here are some of the important things I have learned since beginning the commission. Eagan is an advanced city. We have a company that recycles used car batteries. We are building a Green building. We have a drop off for environmentally hazardous wastE. We promote reducing, reusing, and recycling. The commission recently took a tour of Inver Grove Heights BFI, a recycling distribution center. We watched BFI employees sort through our wasted paper for recycling. We saw the piles of milk jugs, cans, and glass that we toss into our recycling. We were educated on the importance of being cautious about the materials we put into our recycling bins. It is possible for BFI, and other like companies, to lose thousands of dollars from a piece of non - recyclable material, such as ceramic that is accidentally thrown into the glass bin. This is important information. It made me more aware of the things I put into recycling bins. I have also been grateful to find out about the small things I can do to reduce waist in our own home. They are very simple things. I have begun to think of the waist produced by packaging. For people taking care of little ones, think about the typical juice box. Packages of juice boxes often contain three small boxes of juice. Thus, three boxes are to be wasted. Plus, these boxes are wrapped together in shrink -wrap. It is very easy to reduce this type of waist. If we want the ease of premixed juice, we can buy it in bottles made of glass or plastic. This can be recycled. Better yet, we can buy concentrated juice, less waste and a better buy for the buck. If we are sending the juice off somewhere, such as school, include a reusable cup with lid. Hey, and if our purchase is smaller, we can skip the paper or plastic bag. Carry it by hand. Here's another thought for the couch potatoes, each recycled pop -can saves enough electricity to run a television for three hours, a quote from Denis Hayes (Author of Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair, an easy read). Energy waist can easily be reduced. Turn off lights. Purchase fluorescent lights. A 25 -watt fluorescent lamp burns as brightly and cheaper than a 100 watt incandescent light. Do you have an SUN? Those big daddies burn a lot of fuel. We may need one large vehicle for the family, but can we get away with a smaller second car. (This would be the date mobile at our home.) Think about purchasing products, such as Blue Planet gasoline, from Earth friendly dealers. There are so many simple ways to begin saving our planet within our homes. With the current events, we are becoming more conscience of the things we take for granted. Let's keep this beautiful planet in our thoughts as well. We are so fortunate to have so many comforts and luxuries. We can still have them, but by reducing, reusing, and recycling, we can maintain these benefits. I am very pleased to live in Eagan. Our city is advanced in regards to environmental awareness and actions. I am proud to be part of this. Think about getting involved and thank you for your environmental friendly efforts.