Solid Waste Department

(from a April 11, 2012 staff memo to the Board of Directors)

 

1.         Solid Waste Department

Staff finalized the 2012-2014 Brainstory based on the five CVSan Priorities from the Strategic Plan on April 6th.  The Department will be coordinating a staff lunch on April 12thand conducting a recycling and composting staff training.

 

2.         Solid Waste Committee

The Committee met on March 20thand April 9th; meeting minutes for March were included in the April Board packet and April minutes will be included in the May Board packet.
 

3.         CAPIO Award
Congratulations CVSan!  California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) has announced that the Reduce Your Waste Size Program has won two awards in the categories of Innovation and Dollar Stretcher.  Staff will accept the awards on April 19that the CAPIO Conference.
 

4.         Countywide Mandatory Commercial Recycling & Single Use Bag Ban Ordinances

Staff met with StopWaste.Org staff and other agencies that opted out of the Countywide Mandatory Commercial Recycling Ordinance on March 23rdto discuss the definition of Measure D “Adequate Commercial Recycling.”  A Commercial Recycling Plan for businesses and schools was submitted on April 6thand a copy was presented to Solid Waste Committee.

 

5.         WMAC - CVSan Update

Monthly Coordination Meeting:  A meetingwas held on March 23rd; meeting minutes will be included in the May Board packet.
 

Delinquent Accounts:Staff has been drafting a Notification Letter (see attached) which will be reviewed at the April 17thPublic Relations Committee meeting and at the May Board meeting.  Website content will be posted May 18th, a press release issued May 21st, and the Notification Letter will be mailed May 21st.
 

Disaster Preparedness:A draft Disaster Preparedness Plan will be reviewed in May by staff.
 

Cart Recall: Draft publicity content was presented to the Public Relations Committee on March 20th, however, Rehrig Pacific Company has been unable to secure a staging site.  At the April 9thSolid Waste Committee, the Committee approved the other proposed project timeline of Fall 2012.  More details will be forthcoming as next steps are determined.

 

6.         Multi-Family Recycling

Twenty-nine MFDs received letters from CVSan and site visits from WMAC Recycling Coordinator.  One MFD received a donation in March to enhance their recycling program.
 

7.         Commercial Recycling/Green Business

See Item #3, above.  Cascadia Consulting Group, on behalf of the StopWaste Partnership, continues to provide technical assistance to Castro Valley businesses.  Highlights in March include outreach started with 8 additional businesses; door-to-door site visits were conducted at three multi-tenant properties: 580 Marketplace, Eden East Medical Building, and Lake Chabot Medical Building; and a property walk with management and maintenance staff was conducted at Castro Village to begin gathering information for a recycling program rollout in June.  Top Thai and Little Sunshine Learning Center became CVSan’s 18th and 19thcertified 4R Star businesses. 

 

8.         School Programs

To date, 30 elementary school classes have signed up for 4Rs Field Trips, including a new addition of Redwood Christian Elementary.  A total of 12 schools have signed up for Waste Audits this year, with 10 completing the audits thus far. 

 

Food Scrap Recycling:  CVSan is working with Castro Valley High School to install food scrap recycling in the school kitchen in early April.

 

9.         Street Cans/Recycling Pyramids and Maintenance Partnership

The sign replacement project is complete and staff is researching companies to move the street cans along the Streetscape to new locations.

 

10.       Used Oil Recycling Grant

The theme for the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade this year will be a used oil theme of “Don’t Forget the Filter”.  Staff is currently researching promotional items to be used as giveaways that will help educate the community on used motor oil (and filter) recycling options.  These promotional items will be covered by the Used Oil Recycling Grant.   

 

11.       Castro Valley Forum Advertisements

Eight CVSan ads ran in the Forum during March: (2) ads promoting CVSan’s Earth Day Events, (1) ad promoting the Call Us First campaign, (1) ad promoting the 4R business program, (1) ad promoting the wastewater, and (1) ad promoting the June LeaR4n workshops on Recycling and Jobs in Recycling and Waste Reduction.

 

12.       Pipeline Newsletter

The Spring Pipeline 2012 newsletter draft layout is being developed from edited articles.  Residents will receive this edition in late May.
 

13.       Community Advisory Committee (CAC)

The CAC met on March 8thand discussed the Sewer System Maintenance Plan and CVSan’s entry for the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade.  Additional informational and Committee business topics included a Pumps and Pipes Maintenance Tour, WMAC Delinquent Accounts update, and Final 2012 Event Schedule.  Please see meeting minutes for more information.

 

14.       Community Group Outreach

On March 14th, 6 residents attended the rainy and wet Davis Street Transfer Station (DSTS) Tour and stayed mostly dry on the bus and walking tour.  Future DSTS registrations are as follows: June 14th– 4 registrants and September 14th– 4 registrants.  LeaR4n workshop registration so far for the first half of 2012 is as follows: April 5thBay-Friendly Gardening and Earth Day has 5 registrants, May 11that the Kenneth Aitken Senior Center Pharmaceutical Disposal has 3 registrants, and the June 9thJobs in Recycling has 8 registrants.  Due to lack of interest, the June 5th“Where does all the recycling go?” workshop has been cancelled.
 

15.       Earth Day: Clean-Up and Recycle

Recycle Event: Marquee postings are complete; site maps and signage are being finalized, and staffing determined.

 

Clean-Up Event:  The Clean-Up will be held from 9:00 a.m. – noon on Saturday, April 28th.  A total of 12 schools are participating in addition to the five public sites.  Online registration opened on February 24thand includes selection of one of five charities in lieu of event t-shirts.  School volunteers will select their charity of choice on the day of the event.  A free continental breakfast will be provided for all event volunteers.  Thirteen event sponsors / donors have been confirmed.   

 

16.       Pharmaceutical Drop-Box Collection in Castro Valley

The collection box at Eden Medical Center has now been collected 9 times since it opened in September with the average collection weighing 41.78 pounds. 
 

17.       Website/Social Media
During the month of March, there were 15 social media posts pertaining to the solid waste department and programs and 5 photos posted to Facebook and Twitter sites during the month.  Most of the posts continue to promote messages from the weekly Castro Valley Forum ads. 
 

18.       California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA)
The Department participated in the 2012 Annual Conference Host Committee meeting and is working on an industry networking lunch at a local restaurant, recycling entertainment, and an evening industry networking event.

 

19.       Donation Requests

Staff processed 6 Donation Request Forms (see Donation Request Report for details) for the community totaling $363.75 during the month of March. 

 

Month 2012	Franchise Fees Received	New Res Pack Sent	Bag-Its Sold	Paper Garden Bags Sold	Service Referral	Used Oil Resi
Jan	$64,452.45	64	31	12	15	8
Feb	$41,221.78	32	4	2	5	7
Mar	$159,513.46	55	13	4	3	7
TOTAL
2012	$265,187.69	151	48	18	23	22
2011	$980,417.43	579	195	135	150	83
2010	$920,986.76	671	205	96	187	100
2009	$777,740.14	544	277	159	743	215
2008	$608,998.07	446	374	149	136	137

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 Legislative Update & Priority (from Californians Against Waste (CAW), California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA), Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and StopWaste.Org)

CAW:

SB 1219 (Wolk) Plastic Bag Recycling
Summary. SB 1219 proposes to extend the sunset of AB 2449 (Levine) which mandates plastic bag recycling at supermarkets.

Position and Status. CAW is watching.

 

SB 1159 (Calderon) Plastic Bag Recycling

Summary. SB 1159 would create the Plastic Bag Reduction and Recycling Act.

Position and Status.

 

AB 1442 (Wieckowski) Pharmaceutical Waste Hauling

Summary.AB 1442 allows for medical waste generators to apply for waste hauling exemptions in transporting pharmaceutical waste.

Position and Status.CAW is watching.

AB 1442 is scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee on March 20.

 

AB 1834 (Brownley) - Reusable Bag Definition

Summary. AB 1834 would add a reusable bag definition to the Public Resources Code.

Position and Status.CAW Supports.

AB 1834 is currently in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

 

AB 1647 (Gordon) - Tires

Summary.Increases the enforcement of existing tire hauling and manifesting laws to prevent the illegal export of waste tires.

Position and Status.

Support. Scheduled to be heard in Assembly Natural Resources Committee on March 26.

 

AB 298 (Brownley) - Reusable Bag Bill

Summary. AB 298 prohibits manufacturers from selling or distributing reusable bags to customers unless they meet certain requirements.

Position and Status.CAW Supports.

AB 298 may be acted upon this year. It is currently in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee after passing the Assembly Floor on 4/28, 49-25.

 

AB 960 (Bonnie Lowenthal) - E-waste Export

Summary.AB 960 will help reduce the export of electronic waste overseas.

Position and Status.CAW Supports.

AB 960 was held in Senate Appropriations and is now a 2 year bill.

 

SB 568 (Lowenthal) - Polystyrene Food Containers

Summary.SB 568 prohibits food vendors from dispensing cooked food in polystyrene foam or styrofoam containers.

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

SB 568 is inactive on the Assembly floor but eligible to be voted on this year.

 

SB 589 (Lowenthal) - Fluorescent Light Recycling

Summary.SB 589 would establish a product stewardship program for mercury-containing lamps.

Position and Status. Watch. SB 589 is now a 2-year bill.

 

AB 1933 (Gordon) - Bottle Bill Enforcement

Summary.This bill is an enforcement bill to reduce fraud from recyclers attempting to import and redeem beverage containers in CA. This measure would lower the load limit a person can import beverage containers into the state before reporting to CalRecycle, and also requires documentation of the source and destination of the material.

Position and Status.

Support. AB 1933 is scheduled to be heard in Assembly Natural Resources Committee 3/26

 

AB 341 (Chesbro) - Jobs and Recycling

Summary.AB 341 would create green jobs by expanding recycling to every multi-family dwelling and business and would charge CalRecycle with the responsibility for ensuring that the state is recycling at least 75% of the garbage that it generates by 2020.

Position and Status.

CAW Supports.

UPDATE! Governor Brown Signed AB 341!

 

AB 1149 (Gordon and Wieckowski) - Recycled Plastic Market Development

Summary.AB 1149 would extend a January 1, 2012 sunset for the Plastic Market Development program to continue investment in California’s plastics recycling and manufacturing infrastructure. It would also authorize CalRecycle to ‘reinvest’ up to 50% of savings from an anticipated drop in PET processing fee offsets back into Plastic Market Development Payments.

Position and Status.CAW-sponsored.

UPDATE: Governor Brown Signed AB 1149!

 

AB 583 (Knight) - Consolidate E-waste Program

Summary. consolidate the E-waste program by transfering DTSC powers to CalRecycle.

Position and Status. Watch. This bill died in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee.

 

AB 1019 (Perez) - Carpet Stewardship

Summary. would reenact AB 2398, the Carpet Stewardship Bill passed last year.

Position and Status. CAW Supports. AB 1019 is still alive from last year.

 

AB 1178 (Ma) - Prohibition on Local Disposal Limits

Summary. AB 1178 prohibits local governments from limiting disposal of imported waste.

Position and Status. CAW Opposes.

AB 1178 is in Senate Environmental Quality Committee and will be eligible to be heard this year.

 

AB 812 (Ma) - Recycled Concrete and Asphalt

Summary. AB 812 would increase the allowable amount of recycled asphalt pavement used by CalTrans to 50%.

Position and Status. CAW Supports. AB 812 is currently in the Senate Transportation and Housing committee.

 

SB 833 (Vargas) - Gregory Canyon Landfill

Summary. SB 833 would have limited the building of landfills that are within a specific distance of a San Diego waterway or Native American sacred site. Specifically, this legislation would have applied to the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill.

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

Governor Brown vetoed SB 833.  Read the veto message.

 

SB 489 (Wolk) - Net Energy Metering

Summary. SB 489 will foster the development of anaerobic digesters and other small renewable energy projects by allowing them to be included in the state's Net Energy Metering program.

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

SB 489 was signed by the Governor.

 

AB 408 (Wieckowski) - Paint and Used Oil Recycling

Summary.AB 408 provides regulatory reform to make paint and used oil recycling easier.

Position and Status.CAW Supports.

AB 408 was signed into law by the Governor.

 

AB 794 (Wieckowski) - Strengthening CA's Landmark E-waste Law

Summary.AB 794 would close a loophole in current e-waste law and protect the state against frivolous lawsuit.

Position and Status.CAW Supports.

AB 794 is heading to the Senate Floor.*update: AB 794 was gutted and amended and is now local facility bonds.

 

SB 419 (Simitian) - Home-Generated Medical Sharps

Summary. SB 419 requires medical sharps manufacturers to improve electronic access to their annual sharps disposal reports.

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

SB 419 is in the Assembly Appropriations committee and eligible to be heard this year.

 

SB 915 (Calderon) - Plastic Carryout Bags

Summary. SB 915 mandates reduced plastic bag use and establishes a schedule of required recycled content in plastic bags, including both post consumer content and post-industrial content.

Position and Status. CAW was watching this bill. It was pulled from Senate Environmental Quality Committee on 5/2 and is no longer active.

 

AB 921 (Allen) - Compost Study Bill

Summary. AB 921 directs the state to measure the significant agricultural water efficiency benefits of applying compost to croplands.

Position and Status. CAW Supports. AB 921 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on 5/27 and is now a dead bill.

 

AB 525 (Gordon) - Tire Recycling

SummaryAB 525 (Gordon) extends CalRecycle's successful Rubberized Asphalt Concrete tire recycling program.

Position and StatusCAW Supports. AB 525 just passed both houses and was signed into law by Governor Brown on October 8, 2011.

 

AB 34 (Williams) Compost Infrastructure Development

Summary. AB 34 targets the most prevalent items in our waste stream by encouraging the development of compost facilities to recycle organic materials.

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

AB 34 was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee and is now dead.

 

SB 567 (DeSaulnier) - Truthful Environmental Advertising in Plastics

Summary.SB 567 expands the scope of current plastic end-of-life claim labeling requirements from bags and food packaging to all plastic products.

Position and Status.

CAW Supports.

UPDATE: Governor Brown signed SB 567!

 

AB 818 (Blumenfield) - Renter's Right to Recycle Act

Summary.AB 818, the Renter's Right to Recycle Act, provides a residential recycling opportunity for more than 7.1 million Californians residing in more than 2.4 million multifamily dwelling units.

Position and Status.  CAW Supports.

AB 818 passed the legislature and was signed in to law by Governor Jerry Brown.

 

SB 515 (Corbett) Household Battery Recycling Bill

Summary.Product stewardship for household batteries

Position and Status. CAW Supports.

SB 515 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now a dead bill. Previously, it passed out of Senate Environmental Quality Committee  4/4/2011 with a 5-2 vote.

 

CRRA:

 

Bill #	Author	Subject Note: CRRA positions are subject to change based on changes to legislative text.	CRRA Position
AB 298	Brownley	Would require reusable bags are made from materials that can be cleaned and disinfected; bags may not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts.	Support
AB 34	Williams	Spot bill potentially for compost use issue.	Watch
AB 341	Chesbro	Mandate local govs provide recycling program for businesses with >4 yards of weekly garbage/recycling services, and potentially all multi family residences;  Increase AB 939 waste diversion mandate from 50% to 75% by 2020; Ease review process for local nondisposal facility element (NDFE); Change submission deadline for local diversion mandate reports to May 1.	Support
AB 525	Gordon	Would extend for 5 years tire recycling grant program that would otherwise expire this year.	Support
AB 818	Blumenfield	Would enact the Renters’ Right to Recycle Act would require MFD owners to arrange for recycling services.	Support
AB 900	Swanson	Require schools to provide recycling and composting bins, but says nothing about provision of recycling collection services.	Watch
AB 921	Allen	Would enact the Agriculture Water Efficiency with Compost Use and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act of 2011, requiring CalRecycle in consultation with UC to measure agricultural water efficiency resulting from the use of compost.	Support
AB 960	Bonnie Lowenthal	Would require recyclers to conform their export practices as a condition of receiving existing payments under California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003.	Support
AB 1149	Gordon and Wieckowski	Would extend for 5 years the Plastic Market Development program that would otherwise expire 1/1/12.	Support
SB 515	Corbett	Establish a product stewardship program for household batteries including rechargeable and single-use alkaline batteries.	Support
SB 567	DeSaulnier	Would prohibit misleading labeling of plastic products such as “biodegradable” on plastic products.	Support
SB 568	Lowenthal	Would prohibit use of polystyrene foam food takeout containers, including clamshells, cups and bowls.	Support
SB 915	Calderon	Would suspend local plastic bag ordinances and prohibit local governments from enacting plastic bag bans or fees on plastic bags. Would also establish a mandatory recycled content in plastic bags (Year 1 - 5% PC; Year 2 – 7% PC; Year 3 – 10% PC), increase funding for recycling education, and establish incentives for consumers to return or recycle plastic bags.	Oppose
		Watch List
AB 204	Halderman	Sales and use taxes exemption for biomass energy production	Watch
AB 712	Williams	Convenience Zone recyclers	Watch
AB 768	Gatto	WTE	Watch
AB 812	Ma	Use of recycled concrete and asphalt by CalTrans	Watch
AB 1019	Perez	Carpet	Watch
AB 1178	Ma	Spot	Watch
SB 41	Yee	Sharps	Watch
SB 419	Simitian	Sharps	Watch
SB 457	Huff	Curbside collection of HHW	Watch
SB 518	Simitian	Bottle Bill	Watch
SB 589	Lowenthal	Spot	Watch
SB 771	Kehoe	LFG to energy	Watch
SB 833	Vargas	Spot	Watch
SB 932	Leno	Spot	Watch

 

SWANA: http://www.swananorcal.org/downloads/SWANA%20LTF%20Newsletter%20October%202011.pdf

 

StopWaste.Org: http://www.stopwaste.org/docs/pa_leg_update_10-13-11.pdf

 

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