Agenda - Council - 12/22/1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. S U FtW~AR Y Ramsey residents annually generate an estimated 8-1/2 million pounds of waste or approximately 4,270 tons. A significant portion of this waste is comprised of newspaper, other paper, yard and wood waste, ferrous metals, glass, all of which are recyclable or can be composted and can be diverted from landfilling. In compliance with legislative direction, the Metropolitan council has ordered all communities to reduce their solid waste by 16 percent by 1990. Each county is charged with administering the program and will be working with individual communities to achieve their goals. Anoka County has established a goal of reducing the waste stream by 20 percent by 1992. Each community is responsible for implementing a local abatement program to achieve this goal. While the abatement goals are stated and measured in tons, the real objective is to achieve increased participation rates in recycling efforts. With successfully increasing participation, the volume of waste reduction will also increase. The abatement goals outlined for the City will increase from 86 tons of material recycled in 1988 to over 300 tons recycled in 1992. in addition, a similar increase in composting of yard wastes is re~aired. The amount of recyclable waste material recycled by Ramsey residents in 19S7 is estimated at 55 tons. No estimate is made for the amount of commosting~ a~X.l~y.~ "~ in order to achieve these goals, a substantial effort by the community including government, civic organizations, business, and residents will obviously need Uo be undertaken. As is evident by the proposed abatement goals for the City, a multi- faceted program is necessary to achieve significant waste reduction. The program erphasis ~hus is based on three key eiemen_= as fci!ows: B. Records and ~:~ ~ C. Reduction or recvc!~n~. _.= of hazardous wastes and large volume r, ateria! (ie, brush and wood, yard wastes, news~a-Ders, The existin? dropoffs and recvc!ing cen~er provide adequate cppsrtunity for newspaper and metals (and soon glass) for the eastern side of Ramsey. No new facilities for these materials appear to be necessary at this time in this area. However, a deficiency cf facilities convenient to the residen%s in the wesuern peru cf tke City exists, parti- cularly for newspaper and glass.