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Case # I SOLID WASTE AND CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAMS By: James D. Gromberg, Project Manager Background: The City of Ramsey is required by State Statute to provide that each resident has refuse service. The City currently fulfills these requirements by requiring each resident by ordinance to have refuse service. Staff recently interviewed the seven (7) licensed haulers as to the number of residential customers that they serve in the City. A total of 4,020 households are currently receiving service from licensed haulers. This accounts for 96 percent (4,020 + 4176*) of the households in the City. This leaves 4 percent that do not currently have refuse service. This is due primarily to the City not enforcing the ordinance unless a complaint is received or to vacancy of buildings. The City is also required to meet cenain landfill abatement goals each year to receive SCORE funding from Anoka County. The funds received for these goals are currently being used to fund approximately 60% of the cost of the curbside recycling program. These funds (currently $32,(00) are further supplemented by the restricted ponion of the landfill tipping fee. With the landfill's closure at the end of 1993, and the expected increase in the recycling goal for the City, the City may need to reevaluate the way to provide curbside recycling and refuse service. The following options for the fulfillment of the goals of maximizing the number of residents who use the curbside recycling service and have refuse service are as follows: 1 . Organize the City with one hauler providing both refuse and curbside service or one hauler for each service. Billing could be provided by the City's agent, which may be the hauler or a third pany. This would provide an opponunity for the City to encourage recycling and reduction as the pricing system would be bid either annually or once every two or three years. 2. Organize the City into districts with a single company providing refuse and recycling service to a district A company could be limited to receiving the bid for only one district This would allow for many of the current refuse haulers to continue to operate in the City. 3. Continue with the current open system and bid the recycling service with a single hauler or haulers by district Staff has contacted ACE Solid Waste, Inc. and they have indicated that the cost to continue the current service would be $1.15 per household for an additional year of the contract The City could also go out for bids on the contract which may allow for a greater degree of competition. However, the City would need to ensure that the program bidders continue the same service as we currently provide. 4. Pass an ordinance requiring haulers to also offer recycling. The City would not be involved in either refuse or recycling except to enforce ordinance compliance. At this time it may be advantageous for the City to consider options 1 or 2 as these would provide for the best opponunity for the City to provide a reduction in the amount of solid waste that is illegally dumped and to provide the most economic provision of refuse service to the residents. When the City conducted it's phone survey as to the number of accounts to which each company currently provides service, it found the following breakdown: 5