HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-23 Ordinance 5314'
Ordinance No. 5314
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Budget for
Fiscal Year 2015 to Provide Additional Appropriation of $387,000 in the
Refuse Fund for the Residential Food Scraps Program
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does Ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. The Council of the City of Palo Alto finds and determines as follows:
A. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Article Ill of the Charter of the City
of Palo Alto, the Council on June 16, 2014 did adopt a budget for Fiscal Year 2015.
B. Staff is recommending a new residential food scraps collection and
com posting program that would be implemented July 1, 2015 as part of the City's
efforts to meet its goal of zero waste to landfills by 2021.
C. Food scraps comprise nearly fifty percent of the material found in single-
family residential garbage in Palo Alto. Currently, these food scraps can only be
disposed in garbage cans. Other residents send food scraps down the drain, which is
not recommended due to additional water usage and the potential for sewer blockages.
Neither of these methods is appropriate for meat, cheeses, eggs, or other foods high in
protein or oil.
D. In April 2013, the City implemented a year-long Two Cart Pilot Program in the
Green Meadow neighborhood that eliminated garbage carts completely and redirected
food scraps to compostable bags and into the yard trimming cart. Residents in the pilot
were asked to bag any remaining garbage and place it in the recycling carts.
E. While the Two Cart Pilot Program did increase diversion of food scraps and
additional recyclables from the landfills, staff is not recommending a citywide roll-out of
the two-cart collection system at this time, as many participants felt that the program
was too complicated. City intends to continue the pilot for calendar year 2015.
F. Under the new program, the city-wide collection of residential food scraps
would be commingled with yard trimmings. There are several regional composting
facilities that are permitting compost being commingled with food scraps and yard
trimmings. The food scraps collection program will likely divert and recover over half of
the food scraps in the residential garbage, which is equivalent to a four percent increase
in the City's overall diversion rate.
G. An initial investment of $387,000 will be needed to purchase kitchen pails and
provide the outreach and training materials needed for implementation. Outreach and
training materials will include cart tags, program brochures, stickers for collection carts,
stickers for the kitchen pails, how-to-video, and informational postcards with program
information. The annual net costs associated with the new residential food scraps
collection and com posting program are currently anticipated to be $532,000, and are
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expected to be recovered through an increase in the single-family residential refuse rate
pending City Council approval as part of the Fiscal Year 2016 budget process.
SECTION 2. Therefore, the sum of Three Hundred Eighty Seven Thousand Dollars
($387,000) is hereby appropriated in the Refuse Fund for the residential food scraps
program, offset by a corresponding reduction to the ending fund balance ($387,000}.
SECTION 3. As provided in Section 2.04.330 ofthe Palo Alto Municipal Code, this
ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.
SECTION 4. The Council of the City of Palo Alto hereby finds that this is not a project
under the California Environmental Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact
assessment is necessary.
INTRODUCED AND PASSED: March 23, 2015
AYES: BERMAN, BURT, DUBOIS, FILSETH, HOLMAN, KNISS, SCHARFF, SCHMID,
WOLBACH
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
NOT PARTICIPATING:
~
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Senio~~
.p.r-Director of Administrative Services
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