Multi-Stream Waste and Recycling Receptacles in Recreation facilities

Transcription

1 Public Report To: From: Report Number: Community Services Committee Ron Diskey, Commissioner, Community Services Department CS Date of Report: September 7, 2018 Date of Meeting: September 13, 2018 Subject: Multi-Stream Waste and Recycling Receptacles in Recreation facilities File: E Purpose The purpose of this report is to obtain Council approval to replace existing waste receptacles with the purchase of new multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles for various recreation facilities. 2.0 Recommendation That the Community Services Committee recommend to City Council: 1. That based on report CS-18-59, existing waste receptacle bins at recreation facilities be replaced with multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles suitable to display advertising; 2. That the City notify Creative Outdoor Advertising in writing that we no longer wish to continue with the current waste bin advertising program at the Legends Centre, Alexandra Park and City Hall. 3. That staff explore alternative and new advertising opportunities; 4. That City staff present the acquisition and implementation of multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles as part of the 2019 operating and capital budget. 5. That staff develop an education campaign and branding of a public space diversion program; and, 6. That staff continue to explore opportunities for public space recycling at City events and parks. 1

2 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page Executive Summary Recently, there has been an increased focus on waste diversion initiatives in the home including the expansion of the blue box program, which is increasing the amount of materials that can be recycled, and the implementation of the green bin program to divert organic waste from disposal. As it has become a way of life at home for many of our residents, there is now greater expectation that such programs are available outside of the home. In addition to public expectation, Provincial legislation, under the Waste-Free Ontario Act (2016), is driving goals of zero-waste through greater producer responsibilities and greater resource recovery across all sectors. In 2017, the Province released the Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario which sets out the following proposed timeline: 30% diversion by 2020 which will include amendments to the 3R s Regulations and the designation of new materials under producer responsibility regulations; 50% diversion by 2030 which will include implementation of disposal bans on materials such as food waste and existing recyclable materials by 2022 and additional expanded materials under producer responsibility regulations; and 80% diversion by Public space recycling programs have been implemented in many municipalities and businesses to varying degrees and have become more commonplace. The delivery of municipal public space recycling programs can vary based on the needs associated to specific areas and activities including parks, along streetscapes such as in the downtown core, in commercial and institutional areas such as City recreational complexes, and in the delivery of special events. The implementation of such programs demonstrates an organizations commitment to sustainable leadership and reinforces the behavior change necessary to make such programs successful. Beyond just the incentive to divert more waste from disposal, public space recycling programs increase the community s capacity for positive environmental action and will likely result in more positive environmental outcomes in other areas as well such as reduced litter. Additionally, there is an opportunity to generate advertising revenues from multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles. Currently, Legends Centre has a third party operator, Creative Outdoor Advertising, overseeing the existing waste and recycling receptacles and the advertising space associated to the units. The City does not have control over the advertising of these receptacles and the revenues received do not come to the City. There are also 6 receptacles located at Alexandra Park and City Hall which are also under the operation of Creative Outdoor Advertising. These receptacles are also not under the control of the City and revenues are not received by the City. These third party operated receptacles present a challenge to streamlining waste and recycling receptacles and create sponsorship conflicts of interest. 2

3 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 3 In order to address the current legislation and based on staff research on other municipal recycling programs, it is recommended that City of Oshawa recreation facilities streamline and update existing public space waste receptacles and purchase multi-stream waste and recycling units for the following locations: Legends Centre; South Oshawa Community Centre; Donevan Recreation Complex; Northview Community Centre; and Civic Recreation Complex. The recycling and waste receptacles located at Alexandra Park and City Hall, also operated by Creative Outdoor Advertising, should also be removed and it is recommended that these be replaced with existing standard baskets and barrels. In order for the City to meet the objectives of the Oshawa Strategic Plan for Environmental Responsibility waste management practices should be reviewed, and best management practices incorporated where possible. 4.0 Input From Other Sources Parks and Environmental Services Community Partnerships Manager Finance Services Corporate Communications 5.0 Analysis 5.1 Provincial Policy and Legislation In 2016, the Province of Ontario introduced a framework to transform the approach to managing waste in Ontario as a resource that can be recovered, reused, and reintegrated into the production stream. The framework includes new legislation, including the Waste- Free Ontario Act (2016) which comprises of the Resources Recovery and Circular Economy Act and the Waste Diversion Transition Act (2016), and a strategy for a Waste- Free Ontario to guide the progress towards a new circular economy for waste. The legislation establishes a foundation to divert more waste from disposal by requiring producers to take full responsibility for recovering resources and reducing waste associated with their products and packaging. 3

4 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 4 As part of this new framework is the goal to increase waste diversion from business and institutional sectors (e.g. hospitals, restaurants and offices). This recognizes that there is greater potential to increase diversion rates in these sectors not currently captured by most municipal residential waste diversion initiatives. In 2017 the Province released the Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario which sets out the following proposed timeline: 30% diversion by 2020 which will include amendments to the 3R s Regulations and the designation of new materials under producer responsibility regulations; 50% diversion by 2030 which will implementation of disposal bans on materials such as food waste and existing recyclable materials by 2022 and addition of expanded materials under producer responsibility regulations; and, 80% diversion by Waste generated from City facilities, events and public spaces could be considered institutional waste and subject to the requirements of the policy and legislative framework. Public space diversion programs present a unique challenge given the wide variety of wastes generated by the diverse users and activities including paper and packaging, food waste, mixed containers including a variety of food and beverage containers. Separating these streams requires extra effort and targeted actions to ensure that the material being captured at the facility level is clean enough to be processed by the City s private recycling collection contractor. High contamination rates often found in public space recycling programs could result in the materials being disposed of due to the high cost of processing and impacts on end market users. 5.2 Public Space Waste Diversion Waste audits of the Legends Centre multi-stream recycling units, consisting of garbage, paper, cans and bottles, and organics streams, were conducted during the summer and found the following: approximately 50% of the cans and bottles recycling stream was considered contamination (non-recyclable material, organic or paper items) such as coffee cups, straws and take out beverage cups; almost 45% of the paper recycling stream was considered contamination such as coffee cups, water bottles, and food packaging containing food; the organic stream consisting of food waste and soiled paper (napkins), which is being piloted at the Legends Centre, contained 15% contamination including plastic bottles and coffee cups; and, despite users having access to the various diversion streams 55% of the garbage stream were identified as materials that could otherwise be recycled or composted. 4

5 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 5 The issue of contamination and the need to increase capture rates is not a unique challenge to the implementation and success of Oshawa s public space diversion program. Staff undertook a scan of best management practices for public space diversion programs, which included studies undertaken by the City of Toronto, City of Victoria, Town of Whitby and other jurisdictions across Canada. The following summarizes the best management practices typically undertaken when implementing a public space diversion programs: Appropriate placement of recycling bins twinned with litter bins and convenient for users; Bin design and configuration with clearly marked and labelled waste streams to ensure proper sorting; Clear, consistent and visible signage and branding of the public space diversion program; Public communication, engagement and promotion; Vendor and staff engagement and participation; Ease of maintenance and clear operational practices supported by a clear corporate mandate to move towards a waste free policy or diversion rate from landfill; Communication with the recycling contractor to ensure waste streams are appropriate and focused on successful capture rates of materials most likely to be generated by users; and, Ongoing monitoring and reporting to ensure the program is successful and meets the corporate mandate. As identified from the waste audits the current recycling program available at the Legends Centre has a high degree of contamination within each of the streams while also room to improve the capture rate of recyclables that are still being disposed of in the garbage stream. Recycling collected from public space recycling programs with high levels of contamination are often disposed of in landfill as they are not easily sorted to ensure clean materials required by end markets that are using the recyclables in their manufacturing process. Currently the City of Oshawa does not have a consistent policy or plan with respect to implementing waste management initiatives within municipal public spaces, i.e. in parks, at events, within the downtown Business Improvement Area, and recreational/civic buildings and facilities. The implementation of the above best practices would allow the City to have a consistent approach to the type of receptacles purchased, placement in recreation facilities and visual branding, education and advertising messages. In order for the City to meet the objectives of the Oshawa Strategic Plan, public space waste management practices should be reviewed and best management practices incorporated where possible. 5.3 Acquisition and Implementation of new Multi-Stream Waste and Recycling Receptacles Based on the best management practices identified and the provincial policy framework focused on increasing waste resource recover in commercial and institutional sectors the City s public space diversion practices could improve. Currently each recreation facility 5

6 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 6 uses different waste and recycling units of varying sizes, colours, waste streams, and messaging. In order to increase participation and reduce contamination, staff are recommending the implementation of the best management practices outlined above and the purchase of new multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles that will include: Clear concise messaging using colour coded, text and high colour graphics to convey sorting requirements; Intentional placement that considers accessibility, user needs and convenience; Uniform multi-stream receptacles throughout each of the City s recreation facilities; and Focused on waste streams that are most often found in public spaces with the least issue of contamination. New multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles would be needed at the following recreation complexes: Legends Centre, Civic Recreation Complex, Donevan Recreation Complex, Northview Community Centre and South Oshawa Community Centre. 53 receptacles would be required which would be placed at key indoor and outdoor locations surrounding each facility. Additionally, 6 receptacles would be required at Alexandra Park and City Hall. A total of 59 receptacles would be acquired. In addition, the bins currently being used are not overly successful at ensuring proper sorting or capturing all recyclables because the advertising space is more prominent than the actual messaging dedicated to proper waste sorting. It is recommended that the new waste receptacles have clearer and consistent messaging so that users approaching the units can clearly see the sorting requirements before placing the waste in an opening. A total of six waste and recycling receptacles are located at Alexandra Park and City Hall. These waste and recycling receptacles are also operated by Creative Outdoor Advertising (C.O.A) and are not under the control of the City with no revenues being directed back to the City. In order to have a consistent and streamlined approach across all waste and recycling receptacles, it is recommended that these receptacles be removed and that standard waste baskets and barrels be introduced in their place. To implement this program, City staff would work with Corporate Communications to develop and implement a Communications Plan for a public awareness campaign, including a clear and consistent look and feel to the waste receptacles and targeted messaging aimed to educate community members and increase their participation in recycling on-the-go and reducing litter. Staff will also explore opportunities for funding and partnerships to off-set costs of advertising and purchasing of the receptacles. 5.4 Advertising Each recreation facility uses different waste and recycling units of varying sizes and waste types. Most recently Legends Centre has been testing advertising bins provided by Creative Outdoor Advertising (C.O.A.). C.O.A. provided both indoor and outdoor units at the Legends Centre for free and they are responsible for the sale of advertising space on the units. The City does not receive any revenue from these bins. Since starting this pilot with C.O.A, the City has increased its Corporate Partnership Program with a significant 6

7 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 7 interest in facility advertising and sponsorships. The ad space on the waste bins, controlled by C.O.A., sometimes conflicts with the City s advertising space and seems to attract the same category of advertisers. Recreation and Culture Services Community Partnership Manager has estimated that with the implementation of new multi-stream waste and recycling receptacles, advertising revenues could be estimated at total of $70,000 maximum revenue annually if all advertising space was sold. It is anticipated that this revenue would be achieved over time and within 5 years of acquiring the new receptacles. Based on a $99/month rate (with incremental discounts for multiple bins), the following estimates per year have been projected: Year Estimated Revenue Estimated % of Advertising Space Sold 1 $14,000 - $21, % sell out 2 $24,000 - $35, % sell out 3 $52,500 75% sell out 4+ $70, % sell out 5.5 Next Steps If approved, City staff will prepare a request for the 2019 capital and operating budget in order to acquire the receptacles and implement a marketing and education campaign as well as explore advertising opportunities. 6.0 Financial Implications The cost for replacement recycling receptacles at recreation facilities (Legends Centre, South Oshawa Community Centre, Northview Community Centre, Civic Recreation Complex, Donevan Recreation Complex) would require $86,000 in capital funds in Communication costs associated with the public awareness campaign would be included in the 2019 Community Services Recreation and Culture Services operational budget. The costs associated to a public awareness campaign would result in a $5,000 increase in operating costs in The primary cost drivers for public space recycling programs include costs associated to the acquisition of recycling receptacles and staff resources to maintain and empty the bins including visual inspection of the level of contamination, and increased contractor fees associated with sorting and managing contamination levels within the recycling stream. However, at this time it is not anticipated that the acquisition of new multi-stream receptacles will have an impact to operating costs associated to maintenance. 7

8 Meeting Date: September 13, 2018 Page 8 These units have space available for promoting and messaging proper sorting requirements. Additionally, if the front panel of the receptacles is used for advertising, the estimated revenues are approximately $70,000 annually. 7.0 Relationship to the Oshawa Strategic Plan This report addressed the Oshawa Strategic Plan by responding to the goal of Environmental Responsibility with the themes of Cleaner Air, Land and Water, Proactive Environmental Management and Less Waste Generation. Jim Naumovski, Director, Recreation and Culture Services Ron Diskey, Commissioner, Community Services Department 8