Written by (I just recieved this information directly from citizens, the Bogarts.)
Dear Ms. Bogart:
Thank you for your early comments regarding your participation in the upcoming Garbage and Food Waste Pilot.
You live in one of the two neighborhoods where we are testing new services in order to evaluate customer response and sanitation impacts of Every-Other-Week garbage collection.
We are also testing the Single-stream, all in one container recycling system – No more sorting your recyclables. In fact, you’ll now be able to recycle more with an expanded list of recyclables that includes small metal, milk cartons, juice boxes, frozen food cartons, and plastic
containers #1 – #7. By recycling these new items you will see an
additional decrease in the amount of garbage you place at the curb for collection. The Recycle cart you will receive will be 64 gallon capacity – a lot more than is currently available with your 3 small bins under our existing source-separated recycling system. The Recycling system is much more convenient. The cart is wheeled and has a secure hinged lid. This system also will reduce litter in your neighborhood because crows, and other animals will no longer be able to access the
material inside. By recycling more, we preserve landfill space and
thus extend the timeline for replacement of this resource. This ultimately translates into cost containment for the solid waste system.
Every other week collection of materials not only reduces the number of trucks on Renton streets, but also reduces fuel consumption. Labor and fuel costs have been major factors in contract cost increases for other suburban cities who have bid contracts. Did you know that Renton’s solid waste rates currently rank in the bottom quarter for neighboring jurisdictions? A single can (garbage) customer in Renton receives unlimited recycling, and unlimited yard waste collection at the cost of $13.44/month. Tukwila customers (with restrictions on yard waste
amounts) pay $20.68 for the same level of garbage service, Kent customers pay $24.75, and Soos Creek customers pay $31.42. We are always looking for ways to contain costs while also providing a full spectrum of recycling opportunities. This becomes even more important as we come to the end of our current contract for solid waste collection services. Costs have been increaseing at a rapid rate. Our interest is trying to find a balance in services, while also responding to our customers’ needs. As you might imagine, there are many perspectives represented in a City our size. Your perspective is one of them, however, we also hear from many customers who want a more environmentally friendly collection service, with expanded service, all while maintaining low rates.
Under this 5 – month Pilot program your garbage rate will not be reduced. We will be providing you with a garbage container that is double your current subscription. You are currently a 1 – mini (10
gallon) can customer so you will be provided double that capacity in the form of a 35 gallon cart that has a liner equal to 20 gallons. The cart is made of sturdy plastic, has wheels, and a secure, hinged lid.
In addition to the new Single-stream recycling system, we are testing food waste in with the Yard Waste recycling. This service has been available County-wide for a year or more. We are testing ALL FOOD WASTE including meats, cheeses, and dairy. So, by putting all of that great food waste resource into your yard waste cart, your garbage can should be left with only dry, non- recyclable materials. We will provide each Pilot customer with a Kitchen Food Waste Container, and compostable liner bags (made with cornstarch, not plastic) to contain their food waste and make the delivery of this material to your outdoor cart more convenient. The compostable liner bags also mitigate any potential odor, or issues with fruit flies.
I personally have been participating in the Food Waste with Yard Waste program in Seattle for over a year. Our yard & food cart is collected every-other-week. I’m not a particularly tidy food/yard waste recycler, but the materials are all contained in the cart and we have never experienced any problems with animals, odors or flies. We don’t use the cart for much yard waste as we have a small yard and tend to leave grass clippings on the ground. This is to illustrate that my food/yard cart contains mainly food – wet and biodegradeable. Renton Pilot customers in contrast will have the added advantage of the food waste bags.
Your Pilot neighborhood will be collected as follows:
Week 1: Garbage & Recycling,
Week 2: Food & Yard Waste,
Week 3: Garbage & Recycling
Week 4: Food & Yard Waste,
and so on….
As you can see, there will always be an option for you to have your food waste collected each week either as garbage or food & yard waste.
This should alleviate any concerns you may have about any potential odor or vector issues.
There is no opting out of the collection schedule. While garbage service is mandatory, the recycling programs in Renton have always been voluntary and will continue to be so during this Pilot 5 month test.
In addition, we have unlimited Recycling and Yard Waste , which means that you are not restricted in the amount of these materials you place at your curb for collection. The City’s curbside program supplies each customer with a yard waste cart. It has always been our policy that if you have overflow yard waste we suggest that you place the overflow material in a sturdy can (maybe use your old garbage can during the pilot program) or Kraft Paper Yard Waste Bags. The only restrictions we place on Yard waste is that we do not allow plastic bags, and any food waste stored for collection must be in the Yard waste cart, or in your garbage container. We do not want you to place food waste in a Kraft Paper Yard Waste Bag. Recycling follows the same guidelines for overflow. Although the new Recycle Cart provides you with much larger capacity for more recyclables, you might wish to hang on to your current recycle bins and use them for overflow on weeks of high recycling volumes.
Customer feedback will of course be a very important component of this program. We will be conducting customer surveys a couple of times during the Pilot. In addition, we will be collecting on-site collection data for the Health department, evaluating issues such as odor,
containment of waste, vectors, etc. In addition to collecting data in
the two Pilot neighborhoods, we will also be collecting data from a Control Neighborhood so that we can compare storage and collection conditions of the two Pilot collection models to that of our existing system. At the end of the Pilot program we will evaluate the two distinct program and compare the information. The data we collect will help guide decisions about the future solid waste curbside program.
More information will be arriving at your residence soon. I encourage all Pilot program customers to carefully read through the materials and familiarize themselves with the changes. Staff will be available as always to answer any questions you may have.
Remember to keep a look out for your new carts and education materials that will be delivered to your house the week of August 6 – 10.
Sincerely,
Linda Knight
Solid Waste Coordinator
As one of the Renton households selected to participate in the pilot collection program, I would like to express my significant concerns with the program. I believe the assumptions that were used to create this program did not consider the residents of Renton or their needs. Below are a list of my major concerns. Please note, this list is in no way comprehensive.
1) We frequently fill our Yard Waste container weekly. Under the new program, we will not only be filling it with yard waste, but will be adding food to this container and then it will only be picked up every two weeks. We do not understand the logic behind adding more garbage to an already full container while decreasing the pickups in half.
2) Our Yard Waste container will sit outside with food rotting in it for 2 weeks at a time. As one of the many residents on small lots, we do not want rotting garbage smelling up our yards and attracting unwanted rodents. We do not have large lots where the containers could be stored away from our homes. The smell of rotting garbage would be particularly offsensive in the summer months when heat will cause the rotting to accelerate. At this time, we keep our garbage in our garage in a sealed garbage can – no neighbors are forced to smell our trash.
3) The garbage can is also normally full weekly. The reduction of food waste will not offset the 50% reduction in garbage pickup. We already recycle our paper, glass and plastics and use our garbage disposal heavily. We are going to end up taking our trash to the dump and paying additional fees for something we are already paying for.
I realize all of these issues can be communicated through the surveys during the trial period, but meanwhile, we are being forced to participate in a program we feel has been poorly designed, reduces our level of service, and provide no relief in cost. We do not find it acceptable to continue to pay the same amount for half the pickup service. I am not opposed to recycling and composting, however, this implementation is completely unacceptable.
Susan Bogart
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