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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14169 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14169) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 5/2/2022 Report Type: Information Reports City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Informational Report on Two Developments on International Shipments of Palo Alto's Recyclable Materials From: City Manager Lead Department: Public Works Recommendation This is an informational report and no Council action is required. Background Palo Alto’s recyclable materials are processed at the GreenWaste Materials Recovery Facility in San Jose where they are combined with recyclables from other communities, separated by type, baled, and marketed. The City requires GreenWaste of Palo Alto (GWPA), the City’s refuse hauler, to report on the disposition of recyclable materials as well as to gather information on the environmental and social implications associated with the further offsite processing of Palo Alto’s recyclable materials. For Fiscal Year 2021, GWPA reported (Staff Report #13535) that approximately 14,000 tons of recyclable materials were recovered from Palo Alto’s refuse, with about 40% staying in the US and 60% being exported to India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries. However, the GWPA report is generalized and does not explain exactly which shipments go to which cities or facilities within those countries. Despite its significant efforts, and three years of trying, GWPA was not able to get this information from the initial brokers which then ship materials to international markets primarily because the brokers consider this market information to be confidential. Therefore, it has not been possible to determine with certainty whether the materials are being recycled, or whether they are causing environmental, human health, or social problems, once they are shipped to international markets. On May 24, 2021 (Staff Report #11632), during discussions on these concerns as part of the new solid waste processing contract, Council directed staff to: 1) Pursue, with other cities, to have GreenWaste provide greater accounting of secondary markets that they utilize; 2) Return to Council with an amendment to the GWPA Contract to authorize a quick response to opportunities to utilize domestic mixed paper recycling; 3) Provide GreenWaste reports to the public and City Council on a regular basis; 4) Work with other cities on legislation to spur domestic or in-state recycling; and 5) If GreenWaste is unable to provide additional secondary market accounting, return to Council for consideration of further actions. City of Palo Alto Page 2 Staff provided an update to Council on each of these directives on January 24, 2022 (Staff Report #13535). Discussion Staff has two new updates to report: a) initiation of a pilot project to take advantage of an opportunity to use domestic markets for processing instead of international markets (mostly related to directive #2 above), and b) hosting virtual forums on the international shipment of recyclables with other local cities (related to directives #1 and #4 above). a) GWPA has located domestic processing facilities to take Palo Alto’s recyclable materials where they will become new products, rather than sending them to international markets where their disposition and impacts are uncertain. It has been very difficult for GWPA to find domestic markets for several recyclables, including cardboard, mixed paper, and plastic. Capacity at US processing facilities for these recyclables is very competitive and this opportunity will be short lived, so staff has moved rapidly to implement a pilot program for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022, under the current contract. The processing facility for plastics is in California and the processing facility for mixed paper is in Louisiana. Staff plans to take the Council options and recommendations for approval of a permanent program for future years as soon as possible. These actions by staff respond to Council’s direction to amend the GWPA Contract to provide for quick response in this area. b) Palo Alto and San Jose are co-hosting several virtual forums on the international shipments of recyclables. The first forum was held on March 16, 2022 and was attended by approximately 40 local government staff mostly from cities and counties in Santa Clara County and Alameda County. The successful discussion included the sharing of information and ideas on actions that can be taken to increase transparency on the processing of recyclable materials, the options for creating standardized accepted materials for recycling, and the potential to improve and expand domestic markets for recyclable materials. These forums respond to the direction from Council to coordinate with other cities on this topic. Future forums will include haulers and processors of recyclable materials, members of the public, the business community, and other jurisdictions. Resource Impact The pilot program for domestic processing of rigid plastics and mixed paper is estimated to cost $280,000 for April through June of Fiscal Year 2022, based on the estimated tons to be processed. The pilot costs will be incorporated into the existing expenditures provided through the Fiscal Year 2022 Refuse Fund operating budget. Options being explored for a permanent program for future years will require additional funding within the Refuse Fund for increased associated future expenses and are subject to Council’s approval. City of Palo Alto Page 3 Stakeholder Engagement The current stakeholder engagement includes conducting several virtual forums with other cities and jurisdictions focusing on increasing the knowledge of the environmental and social issues that international shipping of recyclables may be causing, sharing information as well as exploring solutions. Future forums will include haulers and processors of recyclable materials, members of the public, and the business community. Environmental Review This item is presented only for Council’s information and therefore it is not a project subject to environmental review by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).