fall trash

Talkin’ Trash: Practical Tips for Dealing with Trash Haulers : 

Talkin’ Trash: Practical Tips for Dealing with Trash Haulers Colorado Municipal League Annual Seminar on Municipal Law October 12, 2007

Talkin’ Trash: : 

Talkin’ Trash: Carrie Mineart Daggett Deputy City Attorney City of Fort Collins Susie Gordon Senior Environmental Planner City of Fort Collins Douglas M. Short, P.E. Public Works Director City of Lafayette

Talkin’ Trash: Presentation Agenda: 

Talkin’ Trash: Presentation Agenda Carrie Daggett: Overview of the Legal Basics Providing Service Arranging for Service Regulating Service Susie Gordon: The Fort Collins Experience “Pay as You Throw” and mandatory recycling Districted Service State and Federal Trends Doug Short: The Lafayette Experience History and Background Establishing City Service Lessons and Challenges

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics “For ninety years, it has been settled law that garbage collection and disposal is a core function of local government in the United States.” United Haulers Assn, Inc. et al. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, et al., 127 S.Ct. 1786, Slip Op. No. 05-1345 at 12 (April 30, 2007), Opinion of the Court quoting M. Melosi, Garbage in the Cities: Refuse, Reform, and the Environment, 1880-1980 at 153-155 (1981).

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Three Main Approaches by Municipalities: Provide trash service directly Arrange for trash service by contract Regulate provision of private trash services (Some cities may use a combination of these approaches)

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Police power: licensing and regulation of trash hauling and/or provision of trash hauling services are comfortably within municipal police power authority Historical regulation of trash haulers as public utilities (“motor vehicle carriers”) until 1980

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Antitrust Issues and Senate Bill 94-86: Actions to coordinate or cooperate service of haulers are prohibited Antitrust law allows “anticompetitive” actions if pursuant to a clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed state policy SB 94-86 brought about by annexation dispute; compromise provisions

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics SB 94-86 amended § 30-15-401 to: Add a requirement that a local gov’t give 1 yr notice of intent to offer service if private haulers active in jurisdn (+reverse) Add new alternative process for initiating or expanding service (similar to an RFP) Adds express authority for City to impose service or a user fee on residents

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Providing Municipal Trash Service: City has control and can provide desired range of services (no statutory barriers) City bears the costs, risks and responsibilities (including collections) City could be subject to competition from private haulers, who have the right to compete and may be unregulated Annexation issues

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Arranging/Contracting for Trash Service: City has control over the way services are structured, the scope of services provided, standards for service, rates City may bear some costs initially and continues to have some financial risk (if billing user fee and collecting) City may lose competitive market and have fewer choices in the future Annexation issues

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Regulating Private Trash Service Providers: Prohibition of rate regulation and risk of antitrust liability (except for districting per statute) for coordinating activities Licensing regime allows ongoing means of review and oversight, as well as mechanism for imposing specific requirements (PAYT, recycling, records)

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics City has some control without the burden of providing the service Enforcement challenges Implications of suspension/termination of license Difficulty in establishing a pattern of violations Limited effect on efficiency of routes, reduction of impacts

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics: 

Talkin’ Trash: The Legal Basics Flow Control: Current Events United Haulers Assn, Inc. et al. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, et al., U.S. Supreme Court (April 30, 2007) Distinguished restriction benefiting government facility/service from one benefiting private interest (Carbone case) Found Commerce Clause does preclude local law requiring disposal at regional public facility May lead to additional tools for managing waste hauling and disposal issues

City of Fort Collins PAYT, Recycling andTrash “Districting”: 

City of Fort Collins PAYT, Recycling and Trash “Districting” Susie Gordon, Sr. Environmental Planner Natural Resources Department Solid Waste Reduction Program Colorado Municipal League October 12, 2007

Agenda: 

Agenda Background of City’s involvement in trash collection and Council-adopted goals PAYT trash rates Requirement for curbside recycling Investigations into trash districting 1997-98 New trash districting project 2008 Trash and recycling activities happening at federal and state level

Fort Collins’ solid waste reduction and recycling program: 

Fort Collins’ solid waste reduction and recycling program Recycling programs / education since late ’80s Privatized trash system, but…. City requirements set on trash hauling licenses Must offer curbside recycling: 1992 Volume-based trash rates: 1995 “Bundled” curbside recycling at no additional cost City goals adopted1999 Divert 50% of trash from landfill disposal by 2010 Strategic Planning: 2005-06

Municipal Code: Volume Based (Pay-as-you-throw) Rates www.fcgov.com/recycling/ordinances : 

Municipal Code: Volume Based (Pay-as-you-throw) Rates www.fcgov.com/recycling/ordinances Haulers must charge residential customers on the basis of the volume capacity of containers placed for collection The charge for additional containers of the same volume capacity shall not be less than the charge for the first such container The amount to be charged shall be determined by each hauler, based on a volume capacity of ~33 gallons Haulers shall provide [bags or labels], or establish another system for accomplishing the same purpose which is acceptable to the city

Other Hauler License Requirements: 

Other Hauler License Requirements provide recycling at no additional charge Applies to residential customers Includes materials from list designated by City educate customers about PAYT and recycling at least yearly annual report describing collection plan and rates; biannual reports of waste and recycling volumes maintain records to verify PAYT is implemented make records available for review by City auditors Municipal Code violations; fines plus risk of losing license

Effects of PAYT in Fort Collins: 

Effects of PAYT in Fort Collins Participation in curbside recycling consistently 85-95% Trash volumes decreasing: 224,700 tons in 2006 (2004: 230,400 tons) Recycling volumes increasing: 60,250 tons in 2006 (2004: 58,000 tons) Diversion rate: 21% + 6% [PAYT] = 27%

1997-98 trash districting study: 

1997-98 trash districting study Council-adopted policy 1994: reduce average number of trash trucks per week from six to two on 85% of residential streets Consulting work: RW Beck 1996, Hilton Farnkopf & Hobson report 1998 Highlights of HF&H “Trash Feasibility Analysis” Report State statute provides City with legal authority Public survey showed large margins of support for consolidated, or “districted” trash service Multiple benefits to Fort Collins community Outline of process for implementation

1998 “Districting Report” findings: 

1998 “Districting Report” findings Fewer trash trucks on City streets would mean City could save at least $350,000 annually on avoided street maintenance Costs and impacts modeled Loaded trash trucks cause damage equivalent to 250 cars Residential streets not built to withstand heavy weight Other benefits from trash service consolidation greater neighborhood safety and aesthetics less air pollution lower trash rates for customers Public goals and policies, e.g., recycling, would be easier to meet Several approaches City could subcontract haulers, add line item charge on Utility bills City could compete with haulers by establishing its own Utility

Outcomes of investigations into trash “districting”: 

Outcomes of investigations into trash “districting” Council review 1998-99 Concern over unintended consequences Local trash haulers worry about not getting a “district” Citizens fear reduced quality of service, no longer able to choose their trash hauler Decision to postpone “districting” but to: Revisit the idea in the future Fund new waste reduction projects Promote voluntary trash consolidation in neighborhoods Numerous requests for information about Fort Collins’ report over past ten years

Trash “districting” - what’s happened since 1999: 

Trash “districting” - what’s happened since 1999 Previous Councils declined further discussion on trash efficiency issues Few haulers in business; down from 6 to 3 companies providing residential services Homeowner associations urged / assisted to use single hauler Decline in City’s finances; road maintenance costs under greater scrutiny

Proposal: re-evaluate options for trash collection: 

Proposal: re-evaluate options for trash collection Citizen interest in fewer trash trucks has remained steady Local activists lobbying political representatives Community forum hosted by state Representative (Kefalas) Advisory boards recommending City-run trash system Connections drawn between trash / recycling and climate protection Budget includes funding for new project 2008-09 Instigated by City Manager Council apparently supports the project (vote due Nov. 6) Tasks likely to include, at minimum: Update original data from modeled street costs Identify all options for greater trash collection efficiency

Recent / upcoming State and Federal actions: 

Recent / upcoming State and Federal actions Colorado legislation 2007 HB-1288 adds landfill surcharge to fund recycling grants Money available starting July 2008 for various projects Numerous bills anticipated in 2008 on climate protection Climate Action Plan by state-wide study group this week recommended goal to divert 75% of Colorado’s waste by 2020 Federal laws and legislation May 2007 - Supreme Court finds “flow control” of trash/recyclable materials to be legal when it involves publicly owned facilities Significant implications for some county, municipal governments Growing interest in electronic waste issues E-waste recycling bills adopted in 13 states, many more proposed

Slide30: 

Susie Gordon sgordon@fcgov.com (970) 221-6265 www:fcgov.com/recycling