Alachua County Mandatory Commercial Recycling

Sally Palmi, Waste Alternatives ManagerEnergy Conservation Strategies Commission April 22, 2008

Mandatory Commercial Recycling Program Goals Ensure sustainability Increase recycling participation by

businesses and commercially collected residential properties

Reduce municipal solid waste

Targeted Properties

3428 commercial parcels in unincorporated area

Number of businesses unknown

~3600 commercial entities (according to the Alachua County Tax Collector)

Goals to find out

Alachua County Waste Stream FY 2007

34%

66%

Residential SingleFamily

Commercial

History Development of both the

ordinance and the resolution accomplished with input from the community Board workshops Public meetings TAG

July 2001: BoCC adoption of Mandatory Commercial Recycling Ordinance #01-18

February 2002: BoCC adoption of Resolution #02-16

Mandatory Ordinance Provisions Authorizes BoCC to require commercial recycling Directs BoCC to adopt a resolution Requires permit holders to collect and report

recycling information

Resolution #02-16

Property owners source separate a minimum of 3 of 8 designated materials

Aluminum cans Glass containers Plastic containers

(HDPE, PETE, PVC) Steel cans Magazines Newspaper Office paper Corrugated cardboard

Requirements for Property Owners Provide convenient and accessible location for

containers Maintain containers

Penalties and Fines

“Penalties and fines imposed by the code enforcement board shall accrue to the division of waste management.”

Non-compliance can result in fine of $1000/day

Up to $5000/day for repeat offenders

Exemption

Small quantity generatorsProduce less than

4 cubic yards/weekRecyclable materials

constitute less than 15% of solid waste generated

Small quantity generators must apply for exemption

Commercially-Collected Residential Property Recycling

Sally Palmi, Waste Alternatives ManagerEnergy Conservation Strategies Commission April 22, 2008

Commercially-Collected Residential Properties

Apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks in unincorporated Alachua County

In process of creating comprehensive list Google maps

Education & Tools

“How to. . .” packetsOrdinanceAcceptable recyclable materialsContact information for local recycling

haulers/collection services companiesEPA waste prevention publication Information about how to start a program

Workshops

Education & Tools

Waste Surveys Liaison with haulers Supplies

Multi-bag pilot program Promotional incentives Education material templates Recycling Celebrations

Enforcement

Two code enforcement officers on staff who deal solely with commercial recycling

Goal is compliance and beyond (exceeding the minimum requirements of the ordinance)

New Opportunity to Comply

Tools for Schools 8 yd dumpsterNewspaper, white office paper

Revenue to TFS Helps businesses comply

2 commodities

What we’ve found so far

Visited apartments: 40 In compliance: 23 (not in compliance: 17)Most commonly recycled commodities:

Commingled bottles and jars (metals, plastics, glass)

Newspaper Improvements needed:

Contamination Container location Number of setups

Proposed Changes to Ordinance Commercial exclusion

Requirement for approval for commercial exclusion

Requirement for number of containers for apartments

Automatic exclusion for small businesses (less than 2 cubic yards)

Requirement for additional commodities

Possible Future Changes to Ordinance

Number of recycling setups

Property owner responsibility for contamination

Small quantity generator exemption requirements

Recycling receptacles in close proximity to the trash receptacles

Define “convenient and accessible”

Questions ???

Sally Palmi352-374-5245

scp@alachuacounty.us