Diversion Services

Alameda County Waste Management Authority & Source Reduction and Recycling Board (StopWaste.Org)

5-Year Measure D Program Assessment

2007 - 2008

Client Needs

Every 5 years, the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board (part of StopWaste.Org) performs a review of diversion programs for each of the 17 member agencies and for county-wide programs.  With the 2010 County-wide goal of 75% diversion fast approaching, the Board expanded the scope of this program assessment to focus on identification and analysis of the key measures that will be necessary to achieve the goal, including support for actions the Agency has decided to take such as mandatory recycling and disposal bans.

HF&H Solutions

HF&H, with our subcontractors (Kies Strategies, SERA Inc., and Environmental Planning Consultants) worked closely with StopWaste.Org as well as each of the 17 member agencies to profile existing solid waste and diversion programs, identify sustainability programs related to green building and climate change, and to identify opportunities for increased diversion performance.  Key components of the project directed at identifying practices to assist the Agency in meeting the 75% diversion goal included:

• Comparison of residential programs and performance measures for the member agencies as well as those of a half-dozen other communities across the country.
• Approaches to mandatory recycling, and to local and regional landfill bans based on review of programs from around the county.
• Alternative collection and processing methods such as wet/dry, every-other week collection of refuse and recovery of last resort (all collected materials are processed for recovery and disposal is of processing residue only).
• Options for regional franchising for collection, transfer, processing and disposal.
• Potential effects of innovative rate structuring on diversion.
• A process and options for developing non-disposal based funding sources.
• The sensitivity of non-franchised self-haul material flows to facility tip fees and distance.

Results

The report’s key findings and recommendations focus on data collection and enforcement for current and future member agency contracts and C&D ordinances, ensuring service providers offer commercial recycling and organics programs in a convenient manner that allows for maximum diversion, programs expansion to increase materials and customer convenience,  enhancing recovery from bulky item collection, processes for designing successful mandatory programs and disposal bans, and adequacy of member agency program staffing.

The Recycling Board requested follow-up assistance from HF&H on a sole-source basis (see below). Other key outcomes include:

1. During its 2008 meetings the Recycling Board will be examining a range of issues raised in the Assessment with participation by HF&H staff.
2. The Authority and Recycling Boards are holding a joint meeting in April 2008 to hear from Seattle and city of San Diego staff regarding design and implementation of their mandatory recycling programs.
3. HF&H staff has provided Agency staff with further advising on designing disposal bans.