Recycling carts contain computer chips to track use

Update: First, let's say Racine does NOT have this policy.

But a news story out of Cleveland caught our attention. The city will use computer chips in recycling bins to fine people who don't recycle. The city will track people's use of blue bins. Anyone who does not put their bins out over a long period of time will have their garbage searched for recyclable materials. If more than 10% of the garbage is recyclables, they'll be fined $100.

Read the story here.

An employee from an independent contractor hired to build and distribute Racine's blue recycling bins pushes a stack of bins across the parking lot outside of the city's Public Works building on S. Marquette Street. (Below-right) A bar code on the side of one of Racine's blue carts. (Below left) Bins being unloaded from a truck. (Bottom) Blue recycling carts delivered to homes along Harvey Drive. 

Big Garbage is watching - and it could lead to a greener Racine.

Every blue recycling bin being distributed to homes and apartments throughout the city includes an embedded computer chip. The chip will register when a recycling bin is loaded into the truck, creating data for the city on who is recycling and when they're doing it. Each cart also comes with a bar code on the front that is tied to the address it was assigned to.

Such surveillance is common in recycling programs around the country, and there appears to be little opposition to the oversight. If anything, people have benefited from the tracking with the use of incentive programs designed to reward people for recycling.

The most popular incentive program is run by a company named RecycleBank. The company creates a system that weighs how much people recycle and rewards them with coupons or points, which can be redeemed for items.

Racine considered such a program, Public Works Commissioner Rick Jones said. But the $200,000 start-up cost was too expensive at this time. He added that simply introducing the recycling carts generates a significant increase in a community's recycling rate.

To get another boost, Jones said, communities generally go in one of two directions. One is a "pay-as-you-throw" system that charges people for the amount of garbage they put out on the curb. The second option is a system that offers something to encourage recycling.

Either system would require installing scales on dump trucks to weigh how much people throw away or recycle. Jones said the city's research found the scales don't work well under repeated use. In Racine, the scales would be used 1,000 times a day, which isn't practical with the given technology, Jones said.

Other communities have found another problem creating incentives for recycling. The scales can't differentiate between cardboard and bricks, meaning clever people can game the system to maximize their rewards without actually recycling. Incentive programs can actually reduce recycling because processing companies throwaway recyclables that are mixed with regular garbage.

More notes on Racine's new recycling program:

* Racine's blue bins allow residents to throw all of their recyclables into a single container without the use of bags. One surprising item you can't recycle: shredded paper. The reason? The shreds clog up the recycling processors' machines, Jones said. So while you can throw office paper and junk mail into the blue bins, you can't throw the same items in if you run them through a paper shredder.

* Distribution of the carts is ahead of schedule, Jones said. The city estimated it would take three weeks to build and deliver about 20,000 carts to city property owners. Now it looks like the company will finish in two weeks. Some city residents, eager to use their new bins, have already set out their recyclables at the curb, Jones said. That's created a few problems for garbage haulers who aren't equipped yet to collect the recyclables. But Jones said he didn't mind that problem. "I can't fault anyone for being eager to use their bins," he said. "It's a good sign."

* Oshkosh has implemented a blue bin recycling program, and now it's in the process of tweaking its ordinances to adjust to the bins. The council is working on an ordinance that will require homeowners to store their bins out of sight from the street. Residents had complained that neighbors were leaving their bins in front of their homes, which was unsightly.

City ready to purchase recycling carts; Bid comes in $400,000 under budget

A lot of questions are hanging around out there about the recycling carts included in the city's 2010 budget. Rick Jones, head of the city's Public Works Department, answered a few of those questions Wednesday in a press release.

Here's a breakdown of information that came out today:

1. The city has not bought the carts - yet.

2. The city has settled on a contractor for the carts. Racine is set to purchase 28,500 carts from Rehrig Pacific Company for $1,349,080 - about $400,000 less than was budgeted for the carts. City Administrator Tom Friedel said Wednesday the savings will allow the city to stop collecting the $10 recycling fee from property owners sooner than expected. (The city is still calculating how much sooner, he said.)

3. The carts will be manufactured at Rehrig's plant in Pleasant Prairie.

4. The city is close to finalizing rules for its cart program, according to Jones' press release. The standard cart will be 65 gallons for residential properties and 95 gallons for non-residential customers in the city.

5. Property owners will be able to exchange their carts after a 60-day trial period. The one-time, free-of-charge exchange will allow residents to switch to the larger size (95 gallons) or a smaller, 35-gallon cart.

6. "Our program is based upon trying to maximize the recycling volume in order to maximize the cost savings to our property taxpayers," Jone said in the press release. "However, we also understand that one size does not meet everyone’s needs and that flexibility needs to be a significant consideration."

The press release also reiterated that the city implementing the program to save money. As of Jan. 1, it costs the city $43 per ton to dispose of regular garbage in the landfill, compared to $9 per ton for recyclables. In other words, the city saves $34 for every ton of garbage that is recycled instead of being thrown into the landfill.

See Jones' full press release below.

Also Wednesday, Alderman Terry McCarthy reported on research he'd done on another community that required residents to use recycling containers. Here's his letter to the City Council and other city officials:

All,
In an effort to verify the validity of the fiscal benefits claimed for single-stream recycling carts beyond the myriad of examples already supplied to us by the DPW, I googled "single stream recycling" results and went to the first municipal site that showed up on the list, Springfield, MA. It turned out to be a perfect reference for our situation, as they are a similar size, older, cold-weather city moving from dual stream to single-stream recycling with 95 (yes, 95) gallon carts.

I spoke to Greg Superneau, the DPW manager responsible for the program. He indicated that they faced all the same questions and concerns we are hearing (including civil liberties - it is Massachusetts after all!). After implementing for the first third of the City, the results are very positive (greater than 100% increase in recycling), and they are moving forward with the remainder of the City.

Please take a look at these links in anticipation of our Committee of the Whole meeting on this topic.

http://www.springfieldcityhall.com/COS/20091105-singl-stream.0.html

http://www.springfieldcityhall.com/DPW/single-stream-faq.0.html.

The City Council is scheduled to reconsider the recycling carts at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 2. Alderman Sandy Weidner has requested an advisory referendum on the proposal be placed on the city's April ballot to help the council make a decision on the carts.

The City Council voted to include the recycling carts in Racine's 2010 budget.

Here's Rick Jones' full press release:

I am very pleased to provide an update report to you regarding our recycling cart program. There are two key components.

First, our Purchasing Department reports that they have received the proposal of Rehrig Pacific Company for the provision of recycling carts. The City’s Purchasing Agent reports that he was able to negotiate the purchase of these carts at a reduced rate by taking advantage of the Houston Galveston Area Council procurement program. The proposal for the purchase of 28,500 recycling carts from Rehrig Pacific Company is in the amount of $1,349,080.00 and will result in savings to the City of Racine of approximately $400,000.00 of the anticipated cost.

Mr. Tim Graeb, Municipal Sales Manager for Rehrig Pacific Company, states “We are very excited to be working with the City of Racine for the provision of carts for their recycling program. These carts will be manufactured at our plant in Pleasant Prairie, WI, employing residents of the Racine-Kenosha area. In these difficult times it is even more important to keep these jobs in southeastern Wisconsin”.

Second, I am also pleased to report that we have made extensive progress in developing the rules which will govern our cart recycling program. The standard cart will be a 65 gallon cart for residential properties and a 95 gallon cart for non-residential customers of the City of Racine. The City of Racine will, after a 60 day trial period, allow property owners a one time free-of-charge exchange. Residents may exchange their cart for either a larger (95 gallon) cart or a smaller (35 gallon) cart dependent upon their particular needs. Our program is based upon trying to maximize the recycling volume in order to maximize the cost savings to our property taxpayers. However, we also understand that one size does not meet everyone’s needs and that flexibility needs to be a significant consideration.

The recycling cart program was proposed and approved by the Common Council because of the long term savings it offered to our taxpayers. The dramatic increase in the cost to dispose of a ton of waste in the landfill, coupled with the rise in the value of a ton of recyclables, makes recycling a viable long term alternative to traditional landfilling.

As of January 1, 2010 solid waste disposal rates exceeded $43/ton and the value of recyclables continued to climb so that the City was being paid over $9/ton. The economic justification for the cart system is even truer today than it was 2 months ago when the budget was adopted.

Even with referendum, repealing Racine's recycling bins would take work

Alderman Sandy Weidner is pushing forward with her request to hold a referendum this spring on recycling carts in Racine.

In a brief interview, City Attorney Rob Weber laid out a few potential obstacles to the referendum:

1. It would need to be an advisory referendum. State law says a city can't hold a binding referendum to repeal a budget item, Weber said.

2. Any decision to overturn the recycling carts, which were included in the city budget, would require a two-thirds vote by the City Council. That means 10 aldermen would have to oppose the carts. Efforts to pull the carts out of the 2010 city budget attracted three and four votes - not nearly enough to overturn the decision.

3. There's an issue of practicality. The city has issued request-for-proposals to buy the bins, and official are moving forward with the 2010 budget item. Any referendum would require the city to slow its plans to distribute bins this spring.

That said, Weber said it was possible to place the advisory referendum on the spring ballot. The City Council is scheduled to discuss the item at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 2.

Karas wants citywide focus on recycling

Racine Alderman Pete Karas is pushing for a renewed citywide focus on recycling.

Karas met with representatives from the City of Racine, the Civic Center, The Oasis, Racine County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Downtown Racine Corp., and others to discuss improving recycling rates, which are at a 10-year low.

“We concurred that this program needs more study and public awareness to ensure success, instead of instituting new government regulations and mandates at this time," Karas said. "Education of the public is going to be the first step towards success.”

The city parks and public works departments are testing a program that would make recycling containers more available throughout the city. They will be monitored to see if they're used.

More important, however, is voluntary involvement. Cuts in city spending mean more businesses and residents will have to take the lead on recycling.

“For this program to succeed we need the people, groups, and businesses of Racine to buy in with their voluntary participation,” Karas said. “With the City’s recycling coordinator position eliminated in 2004, the City does not have the staff or money to aggressively provide additional recycling education, making the public’s voluntary involvement essential."

Karas will start the public information campaign with a website, www.RacineRecycles.org. The site is expected to be running by mid-November. Anyone interested in helping with the site, or suggesting possible content, should write to: Recycle@RacineRecycles.org