HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-08-03 City Council (18)City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
DATE:
SUBJECT:
AUGUST 3, 1998 CMR:326:98
CALIFORNIA INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD -
1997 DIVERSION RATE CALCULATION
This is an informational report to provide an update of the City’s status in meeting the
AB939 requirements. No Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB939) set forth a planning and
reporting process for each jurisdiction to manage and reduce solid waste disposal and to
separate household hazardous waste (HHW) from the solid waste stream. The planning
process required local and state (California Integrated Waste Management Board [Board])
approvals of planning documents, which included a Source Reduction and Recycling
Element (SRRE) and a Household Hazardous Waste Element (HHWE). Each jurisdiction
was required to submit an SRRE and implement the programs selected to meet the disposal
reduction goals (25 percent reduction by 1995 and 50 percent by the year 2000). Each
jurisdiction was also required ~o submit an HHWE and to implement the programs selected
to safely collect, recycle, treat and dispose of HHW generated by households. Starting in
1995, each jurisdiction was required to submit to the Board an annual report on program
implementation status and disposal reduction achievement for the SRRE and implementation
for the HHWE. Jurisdictions failing to meet the provisions of the compliance process would
be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per day.
DISCUSSION
On June 6, 1991, Council held a public hearing and adopted the City’s SRRE and HHWE
(CMR: 307:91). The City of Palo Alto became the first city in the State to complete the
planning documents including the negative declaration. The City’s SRRE and HHWE were
used by the State as models for other cities to follow.
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Immediately following the adoption of the planning documents, staff began implementing
the selected programs in the,SRRE and HHWE. In 1995, the City of Palo Alto reduced its
waste disposal by 39.60 percent, exceeding the AB939 mandates by 14.60 percent. The
success ofPalo Alto’s waste disposal reduction can be directly attributed to long term solid
waste management planning, by staff having implemented recycling programs long before
the State mandates, and especially to the residents and businesses who showed their concern
for the environment by supporting and participating in the recycling program.
Also in 1995, many jurisdictions expressed concern regarding the accuracy of existing base-
year data submitted to the Board. Inaccuracies in the base-year data were negatively
impacting jurisdictions’ ability to quantitatively demonstrate their actual progress toward
achieving the 25 percent diversion goal of 1995 and the 50 percent goal of 2000. In 1996,
the City of Palo Alto submitted an annual report to the Board showing a diversion rate of
only 38.44 percent. This was a 1.16 percent decrease of waste being diverted when
compared to the 1995 diversion rate. As staff began to compare the original base-year data
against more current disposal and diversion records, obvious discrepancies were evident,
confirming the concerns expressed by many other jurisdictions in the state.
In 1997, the City selected Emcon Associates to complete the Palo Alto Solid Waste
Characterization Study (CMR: 155:97). Staff directed the consultant to identify and
substantiate all the 1990 base year data discrepancies and, specifically, the understated
diversion tonnage which resulted from difficulties in quantifying these amounts. On
September 9, 1997, staff used Emcon’s findings to request the Board’s approval to establish
1996 as the new base year generation, which would then be used for current .and future
disposal-based analysis. This new base year waste generation was approved by the Board
in June 1997, increasing the 1996 diversion rate by 10.36 percent.
Currently, the Board is streamlining the filing of jurisdictions’ annual reports. In June 1998,
the Board sent the City a completed 1997 disposal reduction calculation showing Palo Alto’s
diversion rate as 52.11 percent, thereby, exceeding the year 2000’s 50 percent diversion goal.
To date, staff has implemented all the scheduled programs in the SRRE except the curbside
mixed paper collection and the composting facility upgrade. These two programs have been
delayed because staffhas not been able to confirm that the possible future benefits justify the
high cost. In the HHWE, the only scheduled program remaining to be implemented is the
permanent Household Hazardous Waste Facility, which is scheduled to be completed by the
Year 2000.
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RESOURCE IMPACT
Because staff applied for the new base-year, annual savings ranging from $1,823,360 to
$2,735,040 has been achieved (since 1996). Gaining an additional diversion is becoming
harder and more expensive as we strive to prevent waste. It currently costs the City
approximately $175,000 per year to gain an additional 1 percent of diversion.
PREPARED BY: Russell Reiserer
DEPARTMENT HEAD: /~/~’
GLENN S. ROBERTS
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Director of Public Works
Efi-iLV IJAt SON
Assistant City Manager
CMR:326:98 Page 3 of 3