Agenda - Council - 11/24/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session 5. 11. Meeting Date: 11/24/2020 By: Chris Anderson, Community Development Information Title Adopt Resolution #20-264 to Enter into a Residential Recycling Program Agreement with Anoka County Purpose/Background: Each year, Anoka County receives funding from the State of Minnesota pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 115A.557. The County distributes these funds, known as SCORE (Select Committee On Recycling and the Environment) funds, to municipalities within the county. In 2021, the allocation includes a base of $10,000 plus $5.00 per household. Ramsey's base allocation for 2021 is $57,990. The funding is intended to help municipalities achieve their recycling goals as established by the Anoka County Board of Commissioners. Ramsey's 2021 recycling goal, established by Anoka County, is 2,858 tons. The goal is based on 215 pounds per person (single family households, up to four [4] units) and 160 pounds per person for multi -tenant households (five [5] or more units). The City of Ramsey has traditionally used these funds to promote recycling and waste reduction education and awareness, notifying new residents of the recycling program components, to offset costs of the spring and fall recycling day events and other collection events/opportunities, and to fund the recycling coordinator position, which duties are a component of the City Planner position. To receive the SCORE funding, each municipality must enter into an agreement with Anoka County that outlines required components of a municipality's recycling program. These required components include providing households an opportunity to recycle at least four (4) broad types of materials, a public information program, recycling drop-off opportunities, and notifying new residents of the recycling program. Furthermore, municipalities are encouraged, but not required, to look at opportunities to expand its recycling program by offering additional drop-off events, enhance recycling at community events, enhance multi -family recycling opportunities, and/or develop opportunities for source separated organics collection. Observations/Alternatives: For the third consecutive year, the tonnage goal, which is based on both single family and multi -family homes, is being increased, from 2,077 tons (2019) to 2,840 tons (2020) to 2,858 tons in 2021. The increase reflects the County's attempt to incrementally move toward the State's goal of recycling 75% of total solid waste generated (by weight) by 2030, which is a very optimistic benchmark. Other challenges to recycling have been growing throughout the last couple of years. China has implemented very restrictive thresholds for contaminants in bales of recycled materials that it will accept. The downturn in the plastics recycling markets has also brought into question what is truly recyclable. At this time, items such as black, plastic frozen dinner trays, refrigerator and freezer boxes, and fiber egg cartons, should not be put in the recycling cart as there is no longer a market for these materials (this is a change from past years). Due to the day to day changes in the recycling world, there needs to be a greater emphasis on the basic tenets of recycling, which would be to focus on fiber (paper and cardboard), aluminum and steel/tin cans, glass, and plastic containers, tubs, bottles and lids that have a #1 or #2 stamped on them. It is now more important than ever to focus on recycling education to avoid the 'wish -cycling' mentality. Wish -cycling is the thought (or hope) that by placing a material or product in the recycling cart, somebody will find