14 - Laserfiche WebLink

To assure a smooth transition to the new system, staff will work with PGS to develop a phased in system and to develop educational materials detailing material separation guidelines. The educational material will be developed by staff utilizing professional services and staff is recommending the City Manager be authorized to enter into a professional services agreement to develop the material which will be funded through Measure D or other non-City source. As indicated, all residential material from recycling carts will be processed at the Pleasanton MRF/belt which will be modified by PGS to maximize the collection of an all "clean" waste stream. The City and PGS will implement efficiency standards within 90- days after full implementation of the residential program to provide quarterly reporting indicating the amount of material made available for recyclers and the amount landfilled. The overall goal of the program is to have 85% of the material made available for recyclers. However, since this target is subject to the quality of the material placed in the recycle carts, PGS will conduct characterization studies of the material in the recycling carts to establish a benchmark of the percentage amount of recyclable material. As a result, if the characterization study identifies a significant amount of the material is contaminated due to contact with refuse, water or other reasons the target would be lowered. Further, if the characterization study results in a higher amount, the target will be raised. Ultimately, the success of the program relies heavily on a combination of resident participation and adherence to program recycling guidelines and PGS's effectiveness in sorting material. It should be noted that implementation of the program will not impact the current operations of the buy back center or the existing voucher program that allows residents to receive a recycling fee reduction for material delivered to the transfer station. Commercial Recycling Services All cities in the region are aware of the challenges of collecting recyclable materials from commercial developments including large apartments using large containers rather then smaller rollable carts. Further, City's like Pleasanton with a large commercial base have greater challenges in meeting current recycling methodologies which are based on pounds of material per resident. However, due to a number of reasons including, lack of space for secondary containers for recycling material, difficulty in coordinating corporate wide activities, and the tendency of large corporations to handle recycling within its corporate structure, city coordinated commercial recycling programs are not as wide spread as residential programs. Nevertheless, the Subcommittee and PGS have agreed to implement a voluntary source separated commercial collection program that will include the distribution of 96-gallon carts to commercial accounts for collection of mixed paper, glass and beverage containers. Commercial accounts will be responsible for placing the containers adjacent to their trash enclosure prior to the regularly scheduled pickup and returning the cart to a location inside or adjacent to the building following collection. In the event a business can accommodate a container (bin) on site in a trash enclosure, PGS will provide the container at a discounted rate. Like the residential program, all commercial recyclable material collected through this program will be processed at the Pleasanton MRF/belt. Page 7 of 9