Minutes - Environmental Policy Board - 02/10/2025

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Councilmember Peters introduced himself. 5. POLICY BOARD BUSINESS 5.01: Curbside Recycling Contract Status Senior Planner Anderson presented the staff report. He stated the City of Ramsey is currently in the fifth and final year of a five-year residential curbside recycling contract with ACE Solid Waste. The current contract runs through December 31, 2025. The purpose of this case is to initiate discussion on policy direction in advance of the expiration of the current recycling contract. He reviewed options the Board could consider and stated that staff has been satisfied with the program as -is. Board Member Bernard asked how residents are currently billed for recycling. Senior Planner Anderson replied that is included in the City utility billing. He explained residents are charged $3.98 per month for recycling, noting that the utility billing is done quarterly, therefore it is shown as $11.94 quarterly for recycling services per household. He stated that ACE bills the City and the City does not charge any additional fees to residents, simply passing on the charges. Chairperson Fetterley asked if ACE has always been the recycling provider and whether staff are satisfied with the hauler. Senior Planner Anderson confirmed that ACE has always been the recycling hauler and staff is satisfied with the services provided. He stated that staff receive some complaints, but they are not frequent. He noted that some of the calls are related to recycling not being picked up and ACE now has cameras on their trucks. He noted that in a recent follow up it was determined that the customer had a large, black plastic bag on top of the recycling, which is not recyclable, and therefore the container was not picked up. Board Member Salami asked if it could be more cost-efficient for the City to provide the recycling services directly with its own trucks. Senior Planner Anderson replied that the City has never contemplated that and believed that would have significant costs for staffing, purchasing vehicles, etc. Board Member Houts asked the last time the City went out for an RFP for recycling. Senior Planner Anderson replied that in the past 20 years, Staff has always been directed to negotiate directly with ACE for either a contract extension or a new curbside recycling service. Councilmember Peters asked the amount of staff time that is spent handling recycling issues. Senior Planner Anderson replied that he does track that time because his time spent on recycling is funded in another manner He estimated 10 to 15 percent of his time is spent on recycling but that is not always resident calls. He explained the educational items that he completes related to recycling. He stated that administration and customer calls are a relatively small portion of his recycling time. Environmental Policy Board / February 10, 2025 Page 2 of 4