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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRECYCLING & WASTE COMMITTEE - 05/21/2021 - Residential Recycling/Waste ContractRECYCLING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Chernick Conference Room May 21, 2021 3:30 PM Present: Trustee Feichter, Chairman Trustee Prochno Trustee Czarnik Staff: Ray Rummel, Village Manager Maggie Jablonski, Assistant Village Manager Caroline Gabiga, Senior Management Analyst Karleen Gernady, Administrative Intern Chairman Feichter called the meeting to order at 3:28 PM. Residential Recycling/Waste Contract Chairman Feichter stated that the Committee had received a memo from Village staff with recommendations for pursuing a Request for Proposals for residential waste hauling services. The Village's current contract with Waste Management expires October 31, 2021. The Committee discussed the possibility of mandatory waste carts. Currently, the Village requires that residents use recycling carts provided by Waste Management, and offers the option to either rent a WM cart or use a cart of the residents choosing. Most communities now require that residents use both waste and recycling carts provided by the hauler. M. Jablonski explained that requiring residents to have a cart for both recycling and refuse from the hauler increases efficiencies for the drivers, and can help lower costs. The Committee discussed that they see a lot of waste carts from WM now, which means all these households are currently paying extra for cart rentals, on top of their monthly fees. Village staff recommended including mandatory waste carts as an option in the RFP, which allows the Village to evaluate the potential cost savings. The consensus of the Committee was to include this optional requirement in the RFP. The Committee discussed offering a senior discount for waste rates and asked how that would impact rates of other households. The Committee discussed that the staff memo indicated almost 1/3rd of households in the Village have owners or renters who are seniors. M. Jablonski explained that any discount given to some residents would result in higher rates for others, because the discount simply changes the way the cost of service is distributed. She explained that staff recommended a 10% discount for single family homes and town homes to offer some relief to seniors, but minimize the cost burden on other households. The Committee discussed that it would be good to provide some relief, and that 10% was in the middle of the range of discounts offered by comparable communities, some of which offer no discount. The consensus of the Committee was to include a 10% discount for single family properties in the RFP. 2 The Committee discussed Village staff s recommendation to remove Alexian Brothers Medical Center and churches from the Village's residential waste contract. R. Rummel stated that the Village is not required to include waste from these entities, and that Amita has stated they could decrease their waste costs by 50% by using the hauler from their system -wide contract. The Committee asked whether churches could get a better rate without the Village. M. Jablonski noted that service requirements for churches vary widely, and removing them from the Village's contract would allow them to get competitive pricing from haulers, including haulers who may specialize in commercial, containerized waste service. The consensus of the Committee was to limit the RFP to residential properties in the Village, excluding churches and ABMC. The Committee discussed the proposed length of the waste contract. Village staff recommended requesting pricing for 6-year and an 8-year contract options through the RFP. The Committee asked the reason for the contract length. M. Jablonski stated that the longer contracts allow haulers to spread the initial costs for serving the community across a longer period. R. Rummel stated that this is a very good market for residential waste service, and communities have been locking in low prices for longer terms. The Committee asked how rate increases would occur over the length of the contract. R. Rummel explained that Village staff would like to continue with the Villager's current schedule of bi-annual rate increases. The consensus of the Committee was to proceed with requesting pricing for both 6 year and 8 year terms, with bi-annual rate increases. The Committee discussed Village staffs recommendation to provide optional combined yard waste/compost collection service for residents, with a monthly fee paid for by residents. The Committee discussed that compost collection service provides the ability for residents to include food scraps in a cart along with yard waste, which would be collected by the hauler and taking to a composting facility. The Committee expressed concerns about whether the compost/yard waste carts would smell or attract flies, and about a lack of interest in the service. M. Jablonski stated that currently residents are permitted to include fruit and vegetable scraps in their yard waste bags, but that not many do. She explained that a small number of residents may be interested in this service, but that this would offer them the ability to pay for the service if they desire. The Committee asked if there would be a separate truck collecting such waste that might increase overall contract costs. R. Rummel explained that yard waste is also composted, so the same truck that collects yard waste would collect any compost materials. The consensus of the Committee was to request that the yard waste/compost service be included as an option, to see if any additional costs might result from offering the service to residents, aside from the fee paid by participants. The Committee discussed the staff recommendation to request optional add -on pricing for curbside electronics recycling. The Committee asked whether this would impact the Village's annual electronics recycling event. M. Jablonski stated that the Village would continue to offer the annual event through SWANCC, but this would provide another convenient option. The Committee asked what type of items less than 50 pounds might be covered by such a program. Village staff explained that newer televisions can be less than 50 pounds, as well as computers, monitors, and other small household electronics. The consensus of the Committee was to include curbside electronics recycling as an optional add -on in the RFP. The meeting adjourned at 3:57 PM C: Mayor and Board of Trustees Village Manager Deputy Village Manager Village Clerk Village Attorney Director of Community Development