Title
Household Hazardous Waste Program Update
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with an update on the City's Household Hazardous Waste program and requests recommendation of City Council approval of a six-month contract with Kary Environmental Services (KES) for a home pickup pilot program.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The City offers a program for recycling and proper disposal of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) with the goals of protecting human health and the environment, preventing operational hazards, and increasing diversion of hazardous materials from the City's landfill.
Historically, the City has offered nine HHW collection events annually for residential customers. These events are limited in the number of residents that can be served and often result in long customer wait times along with logistical challenges for both City staff and vendors supporting the events. Over the past three fiscal years, events have averaged 6,200 customers and the diversion of approximately 300 tons of HHW materials annually.
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic and related safety concerns, staff quickly moved to adjust how the City's HHW program was offered. This included canceling collection events indefinitely and providing residents with the alternative to deliver their HHW materials directly to the City's HHW vendor sites. The transition to vendor drop-off as a service delivery method has been smooth; however, this has resulted in lower participation and reduced location convenience for residents. In an effort to provide the best possible customer service, Public Works has been exploring alternative service delivery methods over the past several months.
Based on benchmarking other municipal HHW programs throughout Arizona, findings show that a very effective and proven way to offer these services is through home pickup. Based on staff analysis of costs, participation, customer service, as well as City resources needed, staff determined a home pickup is an effective method to increase participation and diversion of HHW materials. KES currently provides this type of service to many Arizona cities, including Prescott, Peoria, Glendale and Scottsdale, to name a few.
Staff recommends a new pilot program to provide home pickup HHW collection services. In addition to the proposed pilot program, Public Works will be updating Chapter 27 to make it clear that the property owners or managers are responsible for household hazardous waste until it is picked up by the City's contractor. The pilot program would be evaluated over a six-month period to determine the feasibility of a permanent home pickup program. During the pilot program, the current drop-off service option will remain in place, but no in-person events will be hosted.
The following performance indicators will be used to measure the success of the pilot:
- cost per household served and total cost
- amount of material collected
- customer satisfaction
Staff has begun the process of finalizing the pilot program design, with a goal to launch the pilot in early 2021. Staff intends to return to the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with results and recommendations post program pilot in fall 2021.
Financial Impact
The projected pilot costs are not to exceed $350,000, which is within what is currently budgeted for HHW events in fiscal year 2020-2021. Monies are available within the Solid Waste Fund.
Department
Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Public Works Department.