Curbside Inc. (Curbside) is a California-based company providing curbside HHM pickup nationwide. Residents in a contracted political subdivision call a toll free number and set an appointment to have their material picked up at their house. The resident gives a list of items to be picked up and Curbside sends a disposal kit for the material to be placed in for pick-up. This service can either be free-of-charge to the residents or co-pay can be charged, depending upon the wishes of the contracting community. The following are the fees listed in a draft proposal prepared by Curbside Inc. that was sent to HCSWMD.

containers of 5 gallons or less with a 30 minute time limit per stop)

- Additional charges:

Oil-based paint $6/gallon

Latex paint $5/gallon

No show/cancellation fee $10/stop

Hotline/scheduling fee $125/month

Add educational material Cost plus 15%

Time exceeding 30 minutes $45/hour

Containers over 5 gallons Unspecified extra charges

Additional educational assistance $45/hour

Outside educational assistance $45/hour plus 15%

"Denver Recycles", the program for the city and county of Denver, Colorado, is a client of Curbside. Residents are asked to have a minimum of three items before they call for pick-up. Motor oil and auto batteries are not included in this program (residents are asked to take these to a drop-off facility). There is no co-pay expected of the residents because the program has guaranteed funding through the wastewater management department for five years.

Denver has 155,000 eligible households for Curbside’s services. Each year Denver budgets for 2400 households, or a little over 1.5% of the eligible households. 2002 will be the third year Denver has contracted with Curbside. The first two years the program serviced approximately 2400 total, however it is expected that 2400 households will use the service this year alone. According to records from Curbside, a review of the first two years of Denver’s program showed a total program cost of $229,181.48. The current contract establishes a set fee per household of $104. With the 2400 participant projection that would give Denver a program cost of $249,600 for 2002. This covers 300 pounds of material per household and covers any unexpected costs/fees. The contract also states that the district is not charged no-show/cancellation fees.

Denver is pleased with Curbside overall. There was some initial frustration in the customer service department. Only 5 – 10% of the serviced residents had complaints, but when they would call Curbside the turn around time for a response was fairly lengthy. This problem has since been rectified.

Direct mailings through the resident’s water bills were the most effective method of advertising based on the results from the surveys returned. 80% of the surveys returned indicated that they utilized the program because of the bill insert.

Plano’s program is unique in that it combines two alternatives: call on demand pick-up and a central facility. The Solid Waste Department has two trucks that they own and operate to pick up the material to transport it to the central facility. Residents of Plano call the Solid Waste Customer Service line 24 hours in advance and schedule a pick-up at their residence. Once the material is picked up it is transported to Plano’s central facility for processing or disposal.

The trucks used for pickups were pre-owned vehicles that were donated by the City of Plano government. They are manned with two drivers who are Hazmat, CPR, and First Aid certified and capable of operating a forklift. The drivers work four 10-hour days collecting the material in the morning and processing it the remainder of the day. The salary ranges for these drivers are $27,630 - $39,791 each.

Residential quantities are limited to 10 gallons per scheduled collection. In addition, containers with more than five gallons of product are not accepted because the collection vehicles are not equipped with lifting devices. This policy also provides a check to ensure only residential households and not businesses use the program. When the resident places the material out for pick-up they are instructed to put it out in its original container and, if possible, in a cardboard box. Household products (ex. Drain cleaner, oven cleaner), garden products, pool chemicals, and other products commonly found in the garage (ex. Brake fluid, motor oil, paint thinner) are all accepted in this program.

The facility that the material is taken to is a 24’ by 14’ metal building with painted plywood floors. Window heating and cooling units regulate the temperature and two exhaust fans located at each end of the building provide ventilation. Metal shelving is used throughout and is covered with fireproof padding and a high quality absorbent in case of spills. All electrical elements are spark-proof and approved for use in hazardous chemical environments. Chemical processing and storage areas are sectioned-off behind the building. A weatherproof awning covers the outdoors processing area on the eastside of the building. Fifty-five gallon drums of paint and other recyclable materials are stored in an area adjacent to the processing area. On the opposite side of the facility, HHM containers and drums are stored for appropriate disposal. Fencing requires residents to enter and exit through one doorway, and prevents unauthorized access to the processing and storage areas.

Plano also offers a HHM reuse center that is open for visitors to obtain recycled chemical products free of charge. Specially trained volunteers assist customers with their selections, and help educate visitors about the importance of using the chemical properly. In addition, the volunteers share information about the many non-toxic alternatives to using chemicals that are available. The materials suitable for the reuse center include paint (oil and water-based), automobile cleaners and fluids, garden pesticides and chemicals, pool chemicals, household chemical (kitchen, bathroom, and floor products), home repair products (caulk, floor adhesive, wallpaper stripper), and pet products (flea spray, flea shampoo). The center is permitted to house up to 500 gallons of reuse material at one time. They also offer recycled latex paint, which has been re-blended at the Solid Waste Division’s paint blending facility on site. One 55-gallon drum of old paint can fill 50-60 one-gallon cans of paint, which are marketed under the city’s own label – Conservation Colors.

Any chemical that has been banned by the EPA or cannot be identified must be disposed of properly. Items to be disposed of are categorized and stored according to regulations for HHM removal. The City of Plano contracts with a licensed chemical hauler to handle HHM disposal.

The annual budget for 2001 was $206,000 and increased slightly to $229,000 for 2002. However, the 2002 budget is an extrapolation based on a current actual of $155,839 (as of 03/31/02). (SEE ATTACHMENT A)

The majority of the budget is covered through a $0.23 fee charged to each Plano household via their monthly refuse bill. There are 80,875 households within the Plano city limits (2000 census) giving the Solid Waste Division $223,215.00 annually in revenues.

Portions of these budgets are for disposal costs for, as stated earlier, material that could not be distributed through the reuse center. In 2000 the disposal costs were $6,505 for eight chemical collections.

The residents of Lucas County register with the District to drop-off HHM at a private vendor location. This service is free of charge to the resident with the District covering the cost (residents from neighboring counties can utilize this service, however they are charged a fee by the vendor). The residents call the District office and make an appointment for a 15-minute time slot and give a list of the items they are delivering. The District faxes the list to the vendor, which helps the District keep track of the material flow amounts. The site operates Tuesday through Saturday 9 months out of the year (April – December). The vendor Lucas County uses is Heritage Environmental Services, LLC. Currently there is a 3-year contract with a 2-year extension option. Even though the material is dropped off at the vendor’s site, there is still one Lucas County employee designated as the site manager who is in attendance during the drop-off hours. Duties of the Lucas County employee include unpacking the car, checking the resident in, and separating out most materials. Heritage weighs everything that comes in and reports these numbers to Lucas County in a yearly invoice. (SEE ATTACHMENT B)

As stated previously, the program runs 9 months out of the year. The District is considering running the program year-round due to the positive response. According to Lucas County personnel the program functions very well. The only burden on the District is the initial phone calls at the beginning of each disposal season. Extending the program to year-round would alleviate that burden.

Contact: Dan McCabe

Phone: 772-2818 Ext. 8956

EEI is very interested in this type of partnership. They suggested a Monday through Saturday (9-3) year-round drop-off schedule at the Spring Grove facility. The facility has good traffic flow patterns and ample parking accommodations. EEI would be willing to create a HHM entrance on the Spring Grove Street side of the building for drop-off and the residents can use the loading dock if there is enough room. EEI would like to charge a flat fee to the District based on a certain tonnage collected weekly. (SEE ATTACHMENT C)

Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (MCMUA) runs a permanent facility and sponsors two collection events each year. The facility is free, for most material, to Morris County residents. The only requirement is that the residents call and make an appointment prior to dropping material off. Conditionally exempt small quantity generators and people living outside of Morris County can utilize the facility, however they are charged a fee of $1.25 per pound. Morris County charges its residents only for computers/monitors, latex paint, and propane tanks.

The facility is open Friday and Saturday mornings currently, but in the conversation with Ms. Macpherson she said they were looking into adding Tuesday mornings during the summer months to accommodate the more than 1500 participants that the facility serviced last year.

Cost per pound 2001: $0.61

Cost per pound 2002: $0.59

(SEE ATTACHMENT D)

The project is currently under construction for the residents of Douglas and Sarpy counties in Nebraska. The two municipalities have partnered with the following agencies to accomplish this task: City of Omaha, Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, Keep Omaha Beautiful Inc., and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District.

The cost for construction of the facility is $1.2 million. The project received $500,000 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund that receives 49.5% of all profits made through the state lottery system. There is also some unspecified matching funds coming from other foundations in Omaha according to Mr. Lehe. Siting of the facility was not much of an issue. The property was an old public works property (5 acres) in an industrial area so there was very little opposition to the idea.

The plans as of now are to run the facility four days per week for seven hours or so each day. The projected annual budget is $450,000 - $500,000 to run the facility. The two counties, Douglas and Sarpy, have budgeted for $60,000 - $80,000 annually and the City of Omaha has pledged a few hundred thousand each year also to cover the annual budget. Attachment E is a pamphlet put out on the project that has a section that shows a possible facility layout. Officials estimate that when the facility first open, 70% of the material collected will be paint.

The registration/collection event program is offered four times a year for residents. This program is designed to accept materials that are not normally accepted during the daily drop-off program. The following items are accepted:

Summit/Akron Solid Waste Management Authority (SASWMA) sponsors a permanent facility, which has been in operation since 1996. Currently the facility is opened Tuesdays and Wednesdays for 5-6 hours. One SASWMA employee is typically on-site. Occasionally there are 2 temporary employees to help load tires, but other than that Heritage (the contracted vendor) is responsible for bringing their own employees for retrieving the material.

Two different organizations funded the facility. The land was bought from the local school system by SASWMA for $18,000 and Carter Lumber (who has a business located next door to the facility) donated the building at a cost of $178,861.12. Due to the logistics of this partnership, if the District ever decides to close the facility the contract states that they must sell the land to Carter Lumber for $1.

The trend is promising. The cost per car has been decreasing since it spiked in 1999 while the amount of material collected has steadily been increasing over the years.

However, the cost column does not reflect the total operational cost of the facility for the year. The 2002 budget that was sent for this report showed several other costs that need to be accounted for along with the contracted disposal costs (which is what the cost column represents). The following were the other costs listed accounting for $37,850 of the $517,850.00 proposed 2002 budget (SEE ATTACHMENT F):

0.5% TOU (1734 participants) cost would be $173,400

1% TOU (3468 participants) cost would be $346,800

2% TOU (6936 participants) cost would be $693,600

These costs only reflect the base per stop fee and do not include any of

the "extra" costs that have the possibility of accumulating.

If it were assumed that each participant came from a separate occupied unit, the average number of occupied units that participates in the collection events each year is 5,029. This is 1.5% of the TOU in the District, creating a base cost of $502,900/year

If HCSWMD were to duplicate the District sponsored program for curbside service here are the possible operational costs associated with this type of program:

Using the participation rate of Plano, Texas (0.78%) one can assume the following for Hamilton County:

Based on those figures the following would apply to HCSWMD to implement this type of program:

So the first year known costs would be $695,846.60 - $730,199.40. This does not include the other associated costs listed above that did not have amounts for them.

In addition to operational costs, there are substantial upfront capital costs that could be incurred. These would include a drop-off center, vehicles for pick-up equipped with various safety and containment equipment, and two-way radios.

As stated earlier in the private service company drop-off section, after talking with Julie Conley and Dawn Spurlock from Lucas County Solid Waste District, EEI and Clean Harbors in Hamilton County were contacted to see what interest they would have in forming this type of partnership. EEI estimated a cost to the District of $5000 per week, estimating 10 tons per week. At this rate it would cost the District approximately $260,000 per year to run this type of a program.

This figure was put into the 15-year budget to see what effect it would have on the balance at the end of 2014. The budgeted balance at the end of 2014 is $400,000 - $500,000. Since EEI suggested a three-year contract the $260,000 was put in for 2003 – 2006 and the 2014 balance was $380,243. (SEE ATTACHMENT G)

Several different types of central facilities were looked into during the research for this report. The spectrum ranged from a very elaborate facility ("Underthesink) to a very simple facility (Morris County).

Due to the extreme cost and lack of data, there will be no analysis of the Underthesink program in Nebraska. However, Montgomery County, Morris County, and Summit/Akron Solid Waste Management Authority all provide an adequate overview of a central facility as an option for HHM diversion. Among the three facilities there is a broad range of expenditures, participation rates, and facility construction costs:

There is no facility construction cost listed for Montgomery County because the drop-off centers were placed at existing transfer stations making it difficult to put a price on the construction costs. The pictures below show both Montgomery County facilities. It appears the only construction needed was banners/signs, shelving, storage containers, and safety equipment.

Morris County, as stated earlier, put $350,000 towards their central facility and is located at a transfer station also. As the picture below shows, this facility is separate from the transfer station unlike Montgomery County’s facilities.

Comparing the three central facilities, it would appear that Montgomery County runs the most effectively. The three municipalities have approximately the same population and two of the three have approximately the same yearly expenditures, however Montgomery County has the largest participation rate, the smallest cost/participant, smallest cost/pound, while having the second most pounds collected. The reason behind this is that they have the fewest number of accepted materials on a daily basis. Looking at the list of daily drop-off materials compared to their registration program list, the fairly inexpensive materials as far as disposal/recycling costs are the ones collected on a daily basis while the more expensive materials are only accepted during certain times of the year.

The current schedule for collection events for HCSWMD is every three years with varying amounts of events. In 2000 there were two events while the District has scheduled four events for 2003. Using the averages listed in the above increased event section the following is the costs associated with an increased amount of collection events using different scenarios.

These numbers were put into the 15-year budget to see what effect each would have on the balance at the end of 2014. The desired budgeted balance at the end of 2014 is $400,000 - $500,000. Four of the six scenarios fell within the desired budget. The following table shows the ending balance in 2014 for each scenario that would accommodate the budget:

Two of the scenarios fall slightly below the $400,000 balance but they are considered close enough because it is a desired balance. The two scenarios that did not fit into the 15 year budget, 3 events every year and 4 events every year, created negative balances in 2014 (-$49,067 and -$1,002,170 respectively).