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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/16/1997 - Solid Waste Abatement CommissionAGENDA SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA GOPHER RESOURCES ECO -SITE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1997 5:30 I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA II. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 21, 1997 MINUTES APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1997 MINUTES III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Community Education Issues 1. Business Program Format—Business Newsletter Items 2. Community Evaluation Program V. NEW BUSINESS VI. INFORMATIVE A. America Recycles Day /Eco -Site Grand Opening Event VII. NEXT MEETING — November 20,1997 VIII. ADJOURNMENT Auxiliary aids for disabled persons are available upon request at least 96 hours in advance. If a notice of less than 96 hours is received, the City of Eagan will make every attempt to provide the aids, however this may not be possible with short notice. Please contact Administration at 681-4600 with requests. -- MEMO TO: MEMBERS OF THE RAGAN SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION FROM: COMMUNICATIONS/RECYCLING COORDINATOR FOOTE DATE: OCTOBER 10, 1997 SUBJECT: EAGAN SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION MEETING OF OCTOBER 16, 1997 A regular meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission will be held on Thursday October 16, from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., at the Gopher Resources Corporation, Eco -Site. The site can be accessed off of highway 149, the entrance is just north of Yankee Doodle Road. The Commission vd1l hold a brief meeting, followed by a tour of the new Eco -Site Facility. Please contact Joanna Foote by Wednesday, October 15, at 681- 4604 to indicate if you cannot attend. I. ROLL CALL AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA The agenda, as presented or modified, requires adoption by the Commission. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A copy of the minutes of the Solid Waste Abatement Commission meeting of August 21 and September 18 are included for review. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Approve, deny or modify. III. VISITORS TO BE HEARD IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Community Education Issues ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: discuss and begin to outline education plans FACTS: Business Program Format—Business Newsletter Items included in the Commission's 1997 Goals is the intent to create educational/recognition programs to address business recycling, The Commission has discussed several possible ideas and needs to discuss this idea in more depth to begin designing a program. FACTS: Community Evaluation Program Also required by our Dakota County Grant is the development of an evaluation system to monitor our recycling programs. There are very few parameters being established as to what the evaluation method needs to include, however, the Commission may wish to incorporate some of its own goals into this initiative. Examples of evaluations include anything from asking recycling questions of residents at a specific event or location to preparing and administering a formal resident survey. V. NEW BUSINESS VI. INFORMATIVE A. America Recycles Day/Eco Site Grand Opening Event FACTS: The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance is recommending that Minnesota Cities become involved in "America Recycles Day" on November 15. The new "Eco -Site" at Gopher Resources vd1l be holding its official Grand Opening as a part of this day. The City staff,%ill provide a display or activity in conjunction with this event. Names and addresses of Commission Members have been fomarded on the Gayle Prest at Dakota County for the invitation list. VII. NEXT MEETING FACTS: The next meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission will be held on Thursday, November 20, 1997 at 5:30 p.m. DL ADJOURNMENT Subject to Approval MINUTES OF THE SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION Eagan, Minnesota August 21, 1997 A regular meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission was held on Thursday, August 21, 1997 at 5:30 p.m. in upper level Conference Rooms A and B of the Eagan Municipal Center. Those present were Susan Bast, Dan Breva, Floyd Hiar, James Orcutt, Rick Patraw, and Al Swenseid. Also present was Joanna Foote, Communications/Recycling Coordinator. Those absent were Ron Moening, John Tapper and Jim Weinzettel. AGENDA Upon motion by Bast, seconded by Orcutt, all members voting in favor, the agenda was approved as presented. MINUTES The minutes of the June 19, 1997 meeting were reviewed. Hiar moved, Swenseid seconded, to approve the minutes, as presented. OLD BUSINESS A. Community Education Issues - 1. Multi -Family Program Format— Foote stated that the Dakota County Green Sheet went out to all the haulers. She stated that she did receive a call from Jennifer Klennert of Waste Management and she is interested in receiving a list of multifamily from the City. Foote continued that she is concemed that this will result in bidding wars between haulers if she were to hand out the list although she stated she doesn't believe she can withhold it either. Foote stated that the next step will be to .......................... Hiar asked what the City is trying to accomplish. Foote responded that cities are required by the County to do more in multifamily recycling and "doing more" is non-specific. We are required to have a mailer for multifamily which the newsletter does fulfill at this time. Hiar stated that the first thing that needs to be done to get multifamily recycling going is to communicate to the people who live their. We've already accomplished that and now we need to step back before spending more time and money on what has already been done. Bast stated that it's not so much starting up the program with multifamily, it is increasing participation and at the same time decreasing contamination. Foote stated there will be educational programs provided to multifamily residents. Commission members discussed the use of bags for recycling. There was consensus that they probably would not be used. Foote stated that the County is looking at using baskets for people to place under sinks to use for recycling. She stated there seemed to be quite a bit of interest in them. Hiar stated that it's important to educate multifamily residents first. He continued that one of the problems is the high turnover rate in multifamily complexes. It will take continual education efforts to encourage multifamily residents to recycle. Patraw stated that Dakota County......... Hiar stated that it will increase costs which is the bottom line. asked what could be put together to encourage them to recycle. Foote stated that right now it's the ordinance and it's the only reason. Hiar stated mailing the literature to them is one of the important ways to educate residents on recycling. The children are important but the parents are the ones that need to be informed. Hiar stated that haulers are concerned that there is a'continued emphasis on recycling new types of Solid Waste Abatement Commission Minutes August 21, 1997/Page 2 items. Hiar stated it's also important to get residents to recycle as much as possible, not just newspapers but cans and plastics, etc. He continued that somehow the information as to how and what can be recycled is not getting to everyone. Foote stated that she was aware that there is one apartment building that has some misinformation in that they had been informed that recycling was required and there is a fee charged for it. Hiar stated........ Foote stated that she would like to get a handle on what's going on. She said she hears a lot of different stories. It varies by how they're built, who they're serving, who their residents are, management and problems they've come up against in the past. Hiar suggested that management companies that manage multiple housing units be sent the Eagan Business Newsletter. Bast stated that this is a good idea. Management could compare what works and doesn't work for each site. Hiar suggested that the first mailing of the City newsletter should include a comment saying "If your management company doesn't have recycling, call us.' 2. Community Evaluation Program— Foote stated that the County is requiring that the City have some sort of evaluation of our program. This could be a phone survey or as sophisticated as calling in a company to do a survey. She continued that the survey done in 1997 would not fulfill the requirement. Foote stated that the County is looking for something directed at single family residential. Foote stating that she is hoping to combine an environmental survey with a recycling survey which would result in some grant money, allowing a survey to be done that would cover a lot of environmental issues. Commission members discussed ways of informing the community of how and what can be recycled and to encourage them to do so. Breva suggested the survey ....... our programs are effective, it's the people who need to improve their recycling who are not effective. 3. Business Program Format — Business Newsletter Items— Foote stated that they could include information in the Eagan Business Newsletter regarding recycling — lists or basic information. She stated that Ray and Sheri Wallace do much of the newsletter. Breva stated he thought the business newsletter is a great vehicle and adding recycling messages will help inform businesses about recycling. She suggested in the future during Earth Day or on a Recycle Day to provide awards to certain individuals or companies who are doing a great job in the area of recycling. Hiar stated that he does have concerns about using the business newsletter to educate about recycling. He said that the commission may not want to tell businesses what to do but rather be players, contributors or partners in this project. Foote stated that because of the input from the Chamber of Commerce and the Wallaces this would not be the direction they would go. Hiar stated its important that the haulers have the services available and are willing to do it and they should contact their hauler if interested in doing it. He suggested putting the names of active recycling business participants in the newsletter. Patraw stated that the city of Worthington (Nobles county) has one of the best business recycling programs around. He said they do recognize businesses for participating. He suggested Foote give them a call for more information. Hiar stated that to a degree this should come from the County level. That way each of the cities would be uniform in the way they do commend businesses. INFORMATIVE Foote stated that the County is designing the 'Green Guide' for distribution to all residents of Solid Waste Abatement Commission Minutes August 21, 1997/Page 3 Dakota County. She stated that Eagan staff is making minor revisions to prepare for a reprinting of the Materials Disposal Guide which was distributed to residents last spring. Foote said that this has proven to be a very popular handout and the City receives numerous requests from city residents for it. She also provided an updated list of Construction/Demolition haulers recently licensed by the City. She informed the commission that the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance is recommending that Minnesota Cities become involved in 'America Recycles Day" on November 15. The City does plan to become involved in this event. More information will be provided at a later date. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Patraw, seconded by Bast, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Chair Date JEH MINUTES OF THE SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION Eagan, Minnesota September 18, 1997 A regular meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission was held on Thursday, September 18, 1997 at 5:30 p.m. in upper level Conference Rooms A and B of the Eagan Municipal Center. Those present were Floyd Hiar, Dan Breva and John Tapper. Susan Bast arrived at 5:50 and Jim Weinzettel at 6:10. Also present was Joanna Foote, Communications/Recycling Coordinator. Members absent were Ron Moening, James Orcutt, Rick Patraw and At Swenseid. Because there was no quorum present at the start of the meeting, members discussed informative items until a quorum was reached at 6:10 p.m. J Iif*]0if, T_ Aid A. Materials Processing Guide Update— Commission members discussed changes to the Materials Processing Guide Update and decided to delay its distribution since the County's green guide is due for distribution in the near future. B. America Recycles Day— Members were informed that the Gopher site grand opening is scheduled for November 15. There will be an open house and they will be inviting commission members, City Council, County staff and various dignitaries. Any comments or suggestions about participation would be appreciated. Bast arrived at 5:50 p.m. Bast suggested using BIRT (Build It Recycled Trailer) which will be at Solid Waste Association of North America. She stated that the Office of Environmental Assistance provided information and displays at the State Fair which would be available for use. Weinzettel arrived at 6:05 p.m., at which point a quorum was reached. Upon motion by Bast, seconded by Weinzettel, the commission voted to table the business items until the next meeting. All members voted in favor. Weinzettel stated that he was concerned because recyclables mixing is more prevalent in the city of Eagan than in any of the other cities he deals with. He stated he would like staff to include information in the next newsletter addressing this issue and informing residents of the proper way to recycle their items. AGENDA Upon motion by Bast, seconded by Orcutt, all members voting in favor, the agenda was approved as presented. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Bast, seconded by Hiar, the meeting was adjourned at 6:23 p.m. Chair Date JEH