Solid Waste Program Collection Service Methods:

Manual v CurbcartPresentation to:

City of SaginawCity CouncilJuly 15, 20136:30 pm

Monica DuebbertMMWA General Manager989-781-9555

What is MMWA? Mid Michigan Waste Authority is a

government service Formed in 1991 by 12 municipalities

(including the City of Saginaw) Solid waste services began in 1995 Achieve better pricing/more services by

creating cooperative group of communities

Now serve 35 municipalities equates to app. 99% of county population plus three

townships in Gratiot County (204,000 pop}

MMWA Mission

Provide a quality, cost-effective, environmentally sound, integrated solid waste system for our members

MMWA Members - 35Albee Township Jonesfield Township

Bethany Township Kochville TownshipBirch Run - Village Lakefield Township Birch Run Township Maple Grove TownshipBlumfield Township Marion TownshipBrady Township Merrill - VillageBrant Township Richland TownshipBreckenridge – Village Saginaw - CityBridgeport Township Saginaw TownshipBuena Vista Township St. Charles - VillageCarrollton Township St. Charles TownshipChapin Township Spaulding TownshipChesaning - Village Swan Creek Township Chesaning Township Thomas Township Frankenmuth - City Tittabawassee TwpFrankenmuth Township Wheeler TownshipFremont Township Zilwaukee - CityJames Township

Diverse Membership = Variety

The mixture of population density and economic characteristics impact a variety of solid waste system issues: type of services needed/wanted collection efficiencies public education tools available resident interest in sw alternatives available funding for sw

management

Why Create A Solid Waste System?

Benefits of MMWA Membership

Long term contracts keep costs lower as vendors have longer assured time of service and/or material stream

Long term membership allows members multi-year budget planning for sw services

Access to problem material programs that would not be available individually

Demonstrated expertise in developing and advancing the solid waste services system for members

MMWA Solid Waste System Municipal Member Services

Offer a menu of residential curbside solid waste services for municipal members

Cover residential households single family housing up to quadplexes

Recycling offered by all 35 MMWA members Also offer separate programming for other

problem wastes Household Special Wastes disposal events Electronic waste recycling events Prescription disposal at HSW events

MMWA Solid Waste Services Trash collection and disposal (2

levels) Standard manual 33 gallon bags/can

service 96 wheeled curbcart service

Recycling collection and disposal (2 levels) weekly bi-weekly

Yard Waste collection and composting

SW Collection Services – 2015 and Beyond

What’s Next for

the Region’

s

Solid Waste

System?

Current Solid Waste System MMWA’s current solid waste services

contracts sunset at the end of 2014 Working to develop service agreements

for 2015 and beyond Researched current, available methods,

trends and technologies for the waste services offered membership: residential solid waste collection waste disposal recyclables processing yard waste composting

Current Material Collection Services Two methods of trash collection service

exist under the current agreement: standard unlimited manual collection 95-gal curbcart

All 35 MMWA members selected standard, manual curbside collection of all solid waste material streams

Recyclables and yard waste are also collected manually

Manual Service - Program Standard The service standard for manual

collection programs is the same across the nation: 33 gallon/50 lb weight maximum for trash

containers 18 gallon recycling bins for manual

recycling collection service MMWA program is more expansive,

allowing 2 bulkies and a bundle of brush with weekly trash

Manual Service Limitations Manual service has limitations on the size and

weight of the cans, bags and bins used for materials In place to minimize the potential for injury to

collection workers Top resident complaints on curbside program all

revolve around unintended side consequences of manual service: small, light cans and lids (max 33 gal) blow and break

easily (from wind, passing cars, etc) Residents often seek larger cans to avoid these

issues Those cans are tagged as oversized and not serviced

Scope of Solid Waste Program

Requires between 28 and 47 trucks a day to service MMWA member residents

Provide collection services 5 days a week in between 5 and 11 communities a day

Waste collection services proved to more than 750,000 service points/month

Curbcart Collection Service

Trash Wastestream

Curbcart Collection Service – Trash Stream Curbcart collection is used for a

variety of solid waste materials collection across communities of all sizes

Using curbcarts for several MMWA member residential solid waste material streams offers a number of advantages over manual collection

Advantage A: Safety / Ease of Use Removes workers’ back, shoulders

and most hand use from service provision

Adds to ease of use for collection workers getting materials on the truck

Wheeled, lidded cart easy for resident and workers to use/maneuver

Advantage B: SW Services Cost Containment MMWA already has pricing for curbcart trash

collection service selection Pricing is cheaper than manual service or no

increase in 3 of 6 MMWA service zones Carts leased through vendor with

repair/replace warranty Reduces truck traffic; collection efficiencies

mean fewer trucks/routes needed in larger communities

Eliminates residents need to buy and replace garbage cans

Advantage C: Curbcart Trash Pricing Precedent MMWA current collection agreement offers

pricing for optional curbcart trash collection service

Pricing cheaper than manual service or no increase in 3 of 6 zones: Zone 1 & City Zone = decrease

$0.10/hshld/month Zone 2 = same price / no increase Zone 3 & Zone 4 = increase

$0.42/hshld/month Zone 5 = increase $0.62/hshld/month

Advantage D: Standardization of Service Same cart(s) for all community residents and all members Eliminates most current program complaint issues:

33 Gal Can Issue W/ Curbcart Can blew/thrown Curbcart sturdy, very wind resistantLid blew/gone Lid securely attached to cartCan broken Vendor cart repair/replace program Stickered as oversized Curbcart size(s) same for all residents

  Curbcart damage covered under lease with repair/replace

provision More uniform look at the curb in community, improving

community aesthetics

Advantage E: Incentivizes Recycling The more bin capacity provided residents

for recyclables, the more likely they will participate in recycling

By having a limit on how much trash will go in a curbcart, recycling becomes a more attractive option

If using a curbcart for recycling also, increases capacity and municipal support of recycling as a mainstream waste mgmt option 

Curbcart Collection Service

Recyclables Wastestream

Curbcart Collection Service – Recyclables Stream Moving to curbcart for recyclables can

significantly increase recycling diversion rates

Recycling is further incentivized when communities offer curbcart service for the recyclables stream, in combo with single-stream collection/processing High diversion + low contamination =

single stream recycling collection + larger recycling containers

Curbcart Recycling Benefits Many of the benefits of using curbcarts for

trash collection are also pluses for using curbcarts for the recyclables stream: Ease of use for resident and worker; no bending Carts leased through vendor with 10 year

repair/replace warranty Reduces truck traffic; faster collection efficiencies

mean fewer trucks/routes needed Eliminates most current program complaint

issues: Bin too small Paper blows out of recycling bin

Increased Ease of Recycling Single stream recycling collection allows

residents to put all recyclables in one container; no sorting

Expanded recyclables collection would allow residents to curbside recycle plastics #3 - #7

Larger size container allows more/easier recycling without more bins needed

Eliminates residents need to buy and replace standard 18 gallon recycling

Curbcart Trash & Recycling Works Well Curbcart programs work well in towns of all sizes Large increases in recycling rate have been seen

with the combo of large cart/single stream recycling

MMWA nearby neighbors, Bangor Twp and Monitor Twp, both have had curbcart trash collection for years; no resident issues reported

Several downstate authority members moved to curbcart for trash and recycling high residential satisfaction and huge increase in

diversion from landfill (40%+)

Diversion Increase Examples Several RRRASOC communities moved

to single-stream recycling with 65 gallon carts in mid 2012

61% increase in recyclables diversion over first six months

Alton, IL, similar in size and characteristics to Saginaw went to single stream recycling with curbcart

100% increase in recycling diversion (6% to 12%) in first year/2012

Next Steps

Timeline for Developing a New Collection Services

Agreement

Over Next Several Months MMWA Board of Trustees will be

provided additional information on curbcart collection services and narrow down possible collection service option scenarios

Member community informational presentations on curbcart collection will continue

Collection Services Items to Determine Type of collection method on which to

get pricing : Manual only Curbcart only Mix of curbcart and manual

Wastestream(s) to curbcart: Trash Recyclables Both trash and recyclables 

Collection Services Items to Determine If curbcart service(s) will be offered

members: Size of cart / carts

Developing a multiple cart size plan for selected wastestreams would allow members to have additional flexibility in the service levels they have to choose

Allow/offer multiple cart sizes across members and within a community

Number of carts allowed per household Available styles/colors of carts

Collection Services Items to Determine Select colors for curbcarts

one color for all trash carts across members (tan or grey)

one color for all recycling carts across members (green)

Recyclables processing method Continue dual stream collection and sorting

Requires residents to sort fiber & hard containers separately

Switch to singe stream collection and sorting and expand allowed recyclables

No resident sorting needed Add in plastics # 3 through #7 

October 2013 MMWA Board meeting MMWA trustees determine what collection

services options they want to include in request for proposals Staff will develop RFP and release by end of 2013

RFP will likely request pricing on several options: Standard trash collection service Standard trash and recyclables collection services Curbcart service for multiple cart sizes and multiple

wastestreams (trash and recycling) Pricing tiered within each zone for percentage of

participating members

MMW Board/Members-Early 2014 Looking to award contract in early 2014: Allows members to select which services

and cart sizes they want to offer their community based on vendor pricing received

Allows collection vendor to establish truck depot, if needed

Collection vendor has time to develop capital needed to make truck equipment modifications for curbcart service

MMW Board/Members-Early 2014 Collection vendor must purchase

anywhere from 50k to 150k curbcarts Need multiple months to deliver selected

curbcarts to applicable members housecount

MMWA will develop a public education campaign detailing the 2015 sw curbside program

Need to develop methods for distributing information to all 72,000+ MMWA member households

Contact info: Mid Michigan Waste Authority 989-781-9555 mmwa1991@yahoo.com

www.recyclemotion.org