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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/15/2001 - Waste Reduction and Recycling Advisory Commission AGENDA WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA Eagan Municipal Center City Council Chambers THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2001 5:30 p.m. * ** I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA II. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 18, 2000 MEETING MINUTES III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. INFORMATIVE V. ORGANIZATIONAL BUSINESS A. Introduction /Orientation of New Members B. Sign Oath of Office C. Elect Commission Chair and Vice -Chair VI. NEW BUSINESS A. 2001 Goals B. 2001 Commission Meeting and Televising Schedule VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Sub Committee Updates 1. Evaluation Sub - Committee 2. Events Sub - Committee 3. Education Sub - Committee VII. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting— March, 2001 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: January 8, 2001 SUBJECT: EAGAN ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING OF February 15, 2001 A regular meeting of the Eagan Waste Reduction & Recycling Commission will be held on Thursday February 15, 2001 from 5:30 p.m. until 6:50 p.m., at the Eagan Municipal Center in the City Council Chambers. The meeting needs to adjourn by 6:50 p.m. due to the Advisory Park Commission being televised at 7:00 p.m. from the City Council Chambers. Please contact Joanna Foote at (651) 681 -4604 by Tuesday, February 13, to indicate if you cannot attend. I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA (5:30 -5:32) The agenda, as presented or modified, requires adoption by the Commission. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: approve, deny or modify agenda II. APPROVAL OF January 18, MEETING MINUTES (5:32 -5:35) A copy of the minutes of the Waste Reduction Commission meeting of January 18, 2001 is included as an attachment. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: approve, deny or modify January 18, 2001minutes A copy of the minutes of the Waste Reduction Commission meeting of January 18, 2001 is included as an attachment. III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. ORGANIZATIONAL BUSINESS A. Introduction /Orientation of New Members (5:35 -5:45) New members Kari Sammon and Donald Armborst have been appointed as resident members to the Commission. Members may wish to give introductions and Commission overviews. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: B. Sign Oath of Office (5:45 -5:55) New and returning members will be asked to sign an oath of office form. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Sign and return oath C. Elect Commission Chair and Vice -Chair (5:55 -6:00) Commission members may nominate and elect a Chair and Vice -Chair to serve and conduct meetings. The term will begin immediately and end in January 2001. Staff will conduct nomination and election process. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Elect Chair and Vice -Chair INFORMATIVE A. Earth Day As discussed at our last meeting, staff has been considering some different options for celebrating Earth Day this year following the consolidation of the Burnsville /Eagan Recycling Programs. Due to the large number of events that take place each year, we have decided to either combine the Earth Day activities with another existing event (likely to be either the Eagan Day at the Dome or the Holtz Farm Spring Festival) or to reschedule the event for Pollution Prevention Week in the Fall. Staff will have made more decisions and will update the Commission at the meeting. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Discuss Commission Goals for 2001 (6:00 -6:20) Commission members may wish to discuss possible goals for 2001. Attached are the goals that were not met in 2000. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Discussion and/or adoption B. Discuss the Meeting and Televising Schedule (6:20 -6:30) Commission member may wish to discuss the 2001 - meeting schedule. The Commission may also wish to discuss which meetings it wishes to televise and which meetings it might like to hold off site. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Discussion and/or adoption VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Sub Committee Updates (6:40 -6:47) 1. Update by Evaluation sub - committee 2. Update by Events sub - committee 3. Update by Education sub - committee VIII. ADJOURNMENT Next meeting— March 15, 2001 (6:47 -6:50) WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION 2001 PROSPECTIVE GOALS Tour of BFI • Markets Update (OEA Guest) • Sub - Committee Report(s) Regular Meeting • Multi Family Focus • Invite Property Managers Regular Meeting • Invite County Staff to review Goals /Master Plan • Sub - Committee Report(s) Subject to Approval MINUTES OF THE WASTE REDUCTION & RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMISSION Eagan, Minnesota January 18, 2001 A regular meeting of the Eagan Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission was held on Thursday, January 18, 2001 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Hall. Present were Clint Hooppaw, Gary Hansen, Patricia Hurd, Linda Merkel, John Tapper, and Rick Patraw. Absent from the meeting were Gwen Hillesheim, Tom Petrilli, Mike Stone, and Jim Weinzettel. Also present were Recycling Coordinator Bast, Recycling Intern Seubert and Communications Coordinator Foote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Hansen noted a change to the minutes of the November 16. On page 2, under New Business, Waste Hauler Surcharge, second line, Hansen requested that the statement relating to hauler surcharges be deleted. Hooppaw noted a change to the minutes. On page 2, under new business, Waste Hauler Surcharge, fourth line, Hooppaw requested that "hight" be changed to "high ". The approval of the November 16, 2001 minutes was motioned by Tapper. It was seconded by Hansen with all members present voting in favor. INFORMATIVE A. Update on the "Improving Recycling of Residential Paper" Grant Bast stated the pre - project survey was delayed until late February and the collection date was delayed until April. Hurd asked if the grant project was a reaction to recycling levels. Bast stated an OEA study found that 25% of waste is still paper. The grant will work with mills and haulers to find the type of paper useable to make recycled paper. Patraw asked if the residents are aware of the study and agreement forms signed before participation. Bast stated it is a voluntary program. Educational tools will be used to promote participation. Foote asked if something is planned further ahead to determine if the results are only short -term behaviors and what is the status of the Dakota County grant. Bast stated that nothing was planned to monitor long or short term change in behavioral patterns but this could be considered. She also noted that at this point all the paper work has been sent to Dakota County for the grant. The grant has not yet been approved but County staff seemed optimistic that it would be. OLD BUSINESS A. Review and Discuss Neighborhood Organization Survey Cards Bast stated there were 184 responses, 156 indicated that neighborhood organizations would be beneficial. The top four reasons why people thought organizations would be beneficial are less traffic, safety, cost and noise. Packets were sent out to residents who requested additional information. Hooppaw asked if a follow -up survey was planned as it would be interesting to find out in a year if people still think organizations are beneficial. Foote stated each city had a informative packet about neighborhood organizations, which was combined into one packet. The packet is a tool kit to assist residents in starting an organization. It gives sample questions to ask haulers and letters to be sent to neighbors. Other opportunities to inform residents about neighborhood organizations could be neighborhood watch meetings, street reconstruction, and special events. A survey of residents who received the packet could be interesting and provide information about what may help in the future. The Commission continued to discuss the fact that 38 residents belong to neighborhood organizations and it was not known if this represents one or many organizations. Hooppaw moved to have the Education Subcommittee determine how the survey results would be used in future educational material. The motion was seconded by Hansen with all present voting in favor. Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2 /January 18, 2001 B. Review and Discuss Recycling Survey Card Bast stated that surveys continue to arrive. Highlights include 98% responding recycle something; recycling participation is highest for newspaper and lowest for mixed mail. Hooppaw stated the differences in haulers' preparation requirements could make recycling confusing, especially with cardboard. Foote stated the ECO site accepts recyclables any way they are brought in so if you do not understand requirements they can be brought to the ECO site and cardboard boxes do not need to be cut up to be accepted at the ECO Site. Hurd stated she was concerned about safety issues regarding recycling mixed mail. It is safer if mixed mail can be combined with newspapers. Bast stated it would be beneficial in the hauler survey to determine how many haulers allow commingling. This information would be beneficial for educating the public. Foote added residents are also uncertain about shredded paper. Older shredders had a plastic bag the paper fell into and the plastic bag would be left at the curb. For shredded paper to be recycled it needs to be in a paper bag not a plastic bag. Unfortunately, this has likely lead people to believe that they cannot recycle shredded paper when in fact it is just not recyclable when packaged in plastic bags. Tapper stated it would be beneficial to receive information on how haulers want recyclables sorted at least once a quarter. An insert with the billing statement would be something people would look at compared to a separate mailing. Hurd stated that associations that do not receive bills could receive a flyer instead about sorting recyclables. Hansen asked what the survey response rate was. Foote stated it was 5.1 %. Hansen stated the Commission should be careful when interpreting the results. Foote stated similar results have been received with Dakota County phone surveys. The phone survey results were also in the 90 percentile for recycling participation. Patraw added how the information is interpreted is important and noted that 1/3 of respondents were interested in receiving additional information. Foote added an article in the Eagan newsletter "Green Pages" responded to common questions asked by respondents. Hooppaw moved to have the Education Subcommittee determine how the survey results would be used in future educational material. The motion was seconded by Merkel with all present voting in favor. C. Discuss Hauler Survey Foote stated the Evaluation Subcommittee had decided to put the hauler surveys off until January and asked if the Committee wished to discuss the hauler survey and its goals at this point. A hauler survey was done three years ago in Eagan, Burnsville, and Apple Valley. She asked if there should be a specific focus for the survey. Examples are residential, commercial, or Neighborhood Organizations. Discussion could continue in the Evaluation Subcommittee. Hooppaw asked if a draft survey would be ready by the next meeting. Foote stated the Evaluation Subcommittee lost one member and asked if Stone and Merkel should work on the survey before a new member was added. Merkel stated they would work on the survey without the third member. The Commission continued to discuss the possible survey questions. Possible questions /topics are commingling /source separating, how do haulers feel recycling is going, and are there any materials haulers would consider adding to current curb side collections. Foote stated if all the haulers are already collecting any item not currently in the City ordinance, if consistent, it could be added to the ordinance. The Evaluation Subcommittee should discuss whether or not to include the commercial sector in the survey. Patraw stated the commercial sector is an area that is difficult to get at. The ARROW program is doing something with that sector. Survey questions addressing the commercial sector could be open- ended, descriptive answers, or a series of questions. Hooppaw stated a question asking for details about what is being done wrong would be beneficial. Hurd Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes Page 3 /January 18, 2001 stated the easier recycling is the better and explanations about why things have to be done a certain way would be beneficial. Hansen asked if a question would be appropriate about billing practices. Tapper stated the Commission should stay away from that type of questioning. Patraw stated the Commission should consider issues on a broader scale like confusion about service advertising and what type of service is being paid for. Hansen stated this could be an opportunity to educate the consumer by comparing prices. Foote stated that this is a parameter that should not be crossed. The City mandates what materials, not how it is collected. In regards to billing questions, the state allows for a recycling fee but if a fee is imposed, the same fee must be charged regardless if someone recycles or doesn't. Merkel asked if there was a number to call to get the list of haulers. Foote stated the haulers are listed on the web site or residents can call the recycling hotline for the names and phone numbers of haulers. The Commission continued to discuss the hauler survey. NEW BUSINESS A. Earth Day Preliminary Planning Bast stated she would like input from the Commission about possible Earth Day activities. Foote stated Eagan has done the same activity every year and there has been a fairly good turnout. Attendance has increased each year except last year due to a competing event or in those years when weather was really bad. Now with the joint recycling program, do things need to change? Should a joint activity be planned? She added that Bast has done a variety of things in the past to celebrate Earth Day in Burnsville. The topic of Earth Day has been brought to Tom Hedges, the City Administrator, to see if the City Council has an opinion about Earth Day activities. Earth Day is April 22 and it is a possibility to hold an event at a different time of the year. On occasion, Earth Day activities have been partnered with Arbor Day events. As there are a number of other events which take place during a similar timeframe in the spring, we might wish to consider holding an event at an alternate time of the year such as in the fall nduring Pollution Prevention week. Patraw stated that Earth Day has always been educational but we are preaching to the choir. We should try to get other people to attend the event. The Commission discussed the possibility of switching the event to a different park. In the past we have tried group topics that focus on kids /adults but this creates a problem. If one adult wants to sit through a presentation, what do you do with the kids? A possibility would be to partner with Twins Day or another existing event that may be targeted at a different or broader crowd. Patraw stated that moving the event to where people are normally at, like Town Center, would attract more people. Hurd stated the Event Subcommittee would be willing to meet with Bast to continue to discuss Earth Day and help out. RECOGNITION OF NON - RETURNING MEMBERS Patraw summarized Hillesheim's letter of resignation to the Commission. It stated her work schedule was beginning to conflict will the monthly meetings so she decided not to seek re- appointment. Foote stated she had talked with Petrilli. He had enjoyed his time with the Commission and will continue to help out with events but he too will not be reapplying to the Commission. She added that Hooppaw and Stone have been re- appointed to a new term with the Commission. The City Council has added one more resident position to the Commission. The new resident members are Kari Sammon and Donald Armborst (Alternate). There is still a business representative position open. Patraw stated that ARROW members or someone viewing this meeting could apply for the position. Foote added that the person does not have to live in Eagan, the business only needs to be located in Eagan. ADJOURNMENT Hansen moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m. It was seconded by Tapper with all members present voting in favor. Waste Reduction & Recycling Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes Page 4 /January 18, 2001 Date Secretary NEIGHBORHOOD GARBAGE COLLECTION ORGANIZATION SURVEY Total Number of Surveys 165 Number of % of total responses responses Interest in receiving information 75 45% Neighborhood organization Beneficial 141 85% Not Beneficial 20 12% Currently participating Yes 35 21% No 123 75% No response 7 4% Number of % of people Votes ranki % of votes in Average Reason why beneficial votes ranking ite in the top 3 top 3 per item Ranking Less traffic 117 83% 104 89% 1.82 Safety 90 64% 71 79% 2.05 Cost 81 57% 64 79% 2.5 Noise 85 60% 58 68% 2.87 Wear and tear on roads 74 52% 47 64% 2.81 Service 47 33% 23 49% 3.95 Aesthetics 43 30% 20 47% 4.23 Community building 27 19% 5 19% 6.3 Summary of comments why organizations are not beneficial Comments Type of % comment comments type no competitive pricing 12 41% no freedom to choose hauler 6 21% not a issue 4 14% decrease in service 3 10% No comment 2 7% government intrusion 1 3% government should run program 1 3% TOTAL 29 RECYCLING CARD SURVEY Total Numbers of Surveys 2358 Information on Disposal Guide tally I percent helpful 2265 96% no response 27 1% not helpful 66 3% Information to Reduce Waste tally I percent more information 804 34% no response 569 24% no more information 984 42% Recycled Item tally I percent glass 2209 94% newspaper 2240 95% cans 2226 94% mixed mail 1592 68% plastic 2113 90% cardboard 1740 74% all6 1250 53% Comments tally I percent general comment 809 34% information request 533 23%