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CC Regular Session 5. 11.
<br />Meeting Date: 10/ 11 /2022
<br />By: Chris Anderson, Community Development
<br />Information
<br />Title
<br />Adopt Resolution #22-231 to Enter into a Residential Recycling Program Agreement with Anoka County
<br />Purpose/Background:
<br />Each year, Anoka County receives funding from the State of Minnesota pursuant to Minnesota Statute §
<br />115A.557. The County distributes these funds, known as SCORE (Select Committee On Recycling and the
<br />Environment) funds, to municipalities within the county. In 2023, the allocation includes a base of $10,000 plus
<br />$5.00 per household. Ramsey's base allocation for 2023 is up to $57,995. There are also additional grant funding
<br />categories that include: (1) Drop-off, (2) General Enhancement, (3) Organics, (4) Supplemental Funding (to help
<br />support waste abatement programs or program development), and (5) Labor and Staffing.
<br />The funding is intended to help municipalities achieve their recycling goals as established by the Anoka County
<br />Board of Commissioners. Ramsey's 2023 recycling goal, established by Anoka County, is 2,975 tons. The goal is
<br />based on 215 pounds per person (single family households, up to four [4] units) and 160 pounds per person for
<br />multi -tenant households (five [5] or more units). The City of Ramsey has traditionally used these funds to
<br />promote recycling and waste reduction education and awareness, notifying new residents of the recycling
<br />program components, to offset costs of the spring and fall recycling day events and other collection
<br />events/opportunities, and to fund the recycling coordinator position, whose duties are a component of the Senior
<br />Planner position.
<br />To receive the SCORE funding, each municipality must enter into an agreement with Anoka County that outlines
<br />required components of a municipality's recycling program. These required components include providing
<br />households with an opportunity to recycle at least four (4) broad types of materials, a public information program,
<br />recycling drop-off opportunities, and notifying new residents of the recycling program. Furthermore,
<br />municipalities are encouraged, but not required, to look at opportunities to expand their recycling program by
<br />offering additional drop-off events, enhancing recycling at community events, enhancing multi -family recycling
<br />opportunities, and/or developing opportunities for source separated organics collection.
<br />Observations/Alternatives:
<br />Ramsey's tonnage goal for 2023 is 2,975 tons, which represents an increase of 117 tons compared to the 2022
<br />goal. The increase is not surprising. Since 2019, tonnage goals have generally increased year over year, with the
<br />exception of 2021 to 2022, when it remained static at 2,858 tons. The generally steady increase in tonnage goals
<br />over the past several years reflects the County's attempts to achieve the very optimistic benchmark goal, set by the
<br />state of Minnesota, of recycling 75% of total solid waste generated (by weight) by 2030.
<br />There have been growing challenges related to recycling over the past several years. First, China implemented
<br />very restrictive thresholds for contaminants in bales of recycled materials, which significantly impacted exporting
<br />recyclables overseas. Secondly, the fluctuations in the recycling markets have also brought into question what is
<br />truly recyclable. At this time, items such as black plastic frozen dinner trays, refrigerator and freezer boxes, and
<br />fiber egg cartons, should not be put in the recycling cart as there is no longer a market for these materials (this is a
<br />change from past years).
<br />Due to the day to day changes in the recycling world, there needs to be a greater emphasis on the basic tenets of
<br />recycling, which would be to focus on fiber (paper and cardboard), aluminum and steel/tin cans, glass, and plastic
<br />containers, tubs, bottles and lids that have a #1 or #2 stamped on them (essentially back to the basics of recycling).
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