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HAMILTON COUNTY March 8, 2001 DATE: March 8, 2001 TIME: 2:00 pm PLACE: Hamilton County
Department of Environmental Services PRESENT: Policy
Committee Members PRESENT:
DOES Staff Others
In Attendance ABSENT: Policy
Committee Members DOES
Staff
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. CLERK'S REPORT B. Additions to the Agenda
A. Finance
SubCommittee Report - February 8 and March 8, 2001 Rumpke mothballed the Bond Road facility. There were no tonnages for January. Mr. Riddle stated that Bond Road is not in closure, it is just mothballed. The revenue from Bond Road came from Rumpke Sanitary Landfill (RSL) anyway. What you saw was deducted from RSL's revenue because it was shipped to Bond Road. There is no gain and no loss. What the District is not seeing at Bond Road they are seeing at RSL.
The Finance SubCommittee reviewed the expenditures and recommended approval of SWR 02/2001. Dr. Geis motioned approval of SWR 02/2001. Dr. O'Reilly seconded and SWR 02/2001 was approval by acclamation. III. POLICY ITEMS Jim Schenk from IMAGO, Inc. gave a presentation outlining their project about public place recycling and constructing an environmental neighborhood in Price Hill. The District allocated $18,380 for the creation of the public place recycling. Dr. O'Reilly complimented Mr. Schenk for a wonderful program and asked where the recyclables would go after they are emptied. Mr. Schenk stated the aluminum cans will be turned in for money. The other material will either be taken to a recycling center or set out for pick-up. Dr. O'Reilly asked what materials are being accepted. Mr. Schenk stated that glass, aluminum cans, plastic, and paper will be collected. Mr. Gwyn asked if IMAGO, Inc. was doing any sort of study to determine the contamination rate. Mr. Schenk stated no but he realizes it will be a problem. Mr. Portune asked if IMAGO, Inc. has thought of obtaining receptacles for yard resources to be placed in some of the green space area within the seminary square area. Mr. Schenk stated that they have not and that this was a very good idea. One of the problems with yard materials is that there are regulations that need to be followed. A brief discussion concerning this issue ensued. A brief question and answer session followed the presentation. Sue Trusty from the Civic Garden Center gave a presentation outlining their compost demonstration site. The District allocated $30,000 for the implementation of the compost demonstration site. The site will include an outdoor educational classroom area that will also house the compost demonstration program. At this point, the Civic Garden Center has engaged an architectural firm for the drawings and to provide estimates of the construction costs. The Civic Garden Center has bids out for tools and equipment for the program. The Civic Garden Center has been promoting the program in their Gardners Bulletin which is sent to all of its members. There will be a regular compost section in every bulletin. They are also promoting the new site through WNKU. The construction should be complete this Spring. The Civic Garden Center is working on training and other administrative responsibilities preparing for the site to be complete. Mr. Aluotto stated that this project is of great interest to the District. One of the goals of the project is to advance and teach at-home composting. In terms of the District's state goal requirement for showing waste reduction, the District has never been able to receive credit for at-home composting activities. Next year, the District will be working with OEPA to develop a statistical method of quantifying at-home composting. The District is spending money educating residents on at-home composting but the District is not able to receive credit for any of it. Having the Civic Garden Center as an active compost demonstration site should help the District increase their waste reduction numbers as they relate to composting. Mr. Portune asked Ms. Trusty if the composting outreach was more focused on the City of Cincinnati versus the whole county. Ms. Trusty stated that the school groups are primarily the City of Cincinnati. The Civic Garden Center membership extends throughout Ohio and Kentucky. Ms. Magness stated that the District is paying for travel and the field trips to the site and city and county schools are able to participate. Dr. O'Reilly and Mr. Ingram complimented the Civic Garden Center on the work they do. Mr. Gwyn asked if he could obtain a copy of the before and after plans for the composting demonstration site. Ms. Trusty agreed. A brief question and answer session followed. Mr. Aluotto stated he would keep the Policy Committee updated on the implementation of these projects.
Mr. Aluotto stated that computer and electronic disposal is becoming more and more problematic across the country. One estimate states that by 2004 there will be 315 million obsolete pieces of computer equipment in the United States alone. In considering that each piece of equipment has between 6-8 lbs of lead and other heavy metals, there is concern of what will happen when that material starts entering the landfills. The State has already begun discussing having a state mandate for districts to include a program strategy for dealing with electronic equipment in their solid waste management plans. The above, combined with the fact that over the past 6-8 months the District has been receiving an increasing amount of calls regarding computer disposal spurred the planning of this event. District staff have begun planning a computer recycling event to be held this June. The only cost the District will incur is the advertising and promotion. There are several recyclers that the District is in discussions with. All of the recyclers are willing to take the materials free of charge. One of the recyclers will even pay the District .01 per pound. The computer recycling event will occur in June at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds and will take place for two days. One day will be for residents and the other day for pre-registered businesses. The District will be allowing non-profits and schools to come in and pick out computers that are still usable. Dr. O'Reilly complimented the District on the computer recycling event. Dr. O'Reilly suggested contacting Shannon Carter with Crayons to Computers for they may be interested in the computer keyboards. Also, look on the Electronics Industries Association website in Washington for a possible donation. Mr. Gwyn stated that the Fairgrounds is very far for some communities and asked if communities could have their own collection. Mr. Aluotto stated as long as the District knew about it then it wouldn't be a problem. Mr. Portune stated this could potentially become an annual event for the District and for communities. Dr. O'Reilly moved to adopt the staff recommendation. Mr. Graham seconded and the motion was approved by acclamation.
A. Multi-Family Recycling B. Yardwaste
Drop-Off Sites C. Legislative Issues Mr. Portune asked what the tracking was in terms of committee discussions and hearings. Mr. Aluotto stated that HB 540 has not yet been reintroduced to the house. Mr. Aluotto stated he would keep the Policy Committee informed. Senators Carns and DiDonato have introduced SB 41 which is a bill that will put a moratorium on the licensing and construction of C & D facilities that would accept out-of-state waste. Until such time that a decision can be made on the interstate waste issues was the purpose behind that legislation. Representatives Kearns and Metzger have not yet introduced a bill but are calling a moratorium on siting new landfills until new siting criteria can be reviewed by the State of Ohio. Formerly HB 700, which deals with virtual expansions of landfills over unlined areas, has not been reintroduced yet. The last legislative item which is being discussed and is not in bill form yet is a discussion by Representative Schuring to create a task force to review HB 592. This will have an impact on the District if and when that happens. Mr. Portune requested a summary of the current legislative issues, anticipated outlook, tracking, etc. for the Policy Committee members. D. Alliance for Chemical
Safety Household Hazardous Waste Proposal The Policy Committee had requested the District work with communities regarding litter and illegal dumping. The District has received a grant for a clean-up in Whitewater Township. Whitewater Township has committed matching funds for this project. This event will occur in the summer of 2001. In terms of helping communities with litter and illegal dumping, the District will allocate a portion of its web site directed solely to litter and illegal dumping. Included will be contact information so residents will know who to call for illegal dumping or litter complaints. The District contacted all of the communities and it is pretty much evenly split for calling the Sheriff and the Health Department for illegal dumping. This is an issue that will need to be worked out. Mr. Portune asked what does experience suggest as to the best approach. Mr. Ingram stated it would depend on if the resident actually saw someone doing it; the best thing would be to call the Sheriff. But if it is after the fact then it should be the Health Department. The District will need to make this very clear on the web page. Mr. Portune stated that a single agency with one phone number would be more effective. Mr. Aluotto stated that he would like to see an "800" number that could accept illegal dumping calls and work through the District to forward the calls to the organization that could take action quickly. A brief discussion ensued regarding illegal dumping.
This program was started from the Recycling Subcommittee. Community contacts stated that recycling has lost its fanfare. The C.A.R.E. Awards was an effort to reinvigorate Hamilton County communities with the pride that should be taken for some of the excellent recycling programs. The District is currently putting together guidelines for the development of an award system that would recognize individual communities annually for their recycling excellence. This award system is modeled after the SWANA excellence awards which are given out annually to different types of recycling programs. The District is hoping to start the award program in November, 2001. The prize would be to let the winning community choose a large recycled-content item (ie park bench). The prize would be presented at a community council meeting. The public affairs department would devote as much media attention as possible for that community. The District sent correspondence to all communities and the response was overwhelming. On March 28, 2001, the District will be holding a meeting with interested communities explaining the program guidelines and receiving input regarding the guidelines. Mr. Portune complimented the program.
The District is preparing to seek proposals from consultants to perform a secondary materials study. The goal of this project is to have the consultant work with the District's Business Specialist to look at the commercial/industrial sectors in the county and identify some potential recycling alternatives to increase the recycling rates within those sectors. Dr. O'Reilly suggested someone contact the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Department of Development to obtain information regarding the waste stream. The secondary materials study may be of use to both of these organizations.
District staff have entered into discussions with the Hamilton County Facilities and Public Works departments to develop methodology for including green building ideas on all county/public works projects. The District has not completed the methodology to date, but have plans scheduled for a brainstorming session with the county departments. Mr. Portune reiterated that the District was working with Facilities and Public Works to discuss and develop a strategy and methodology and asked when it would conclude. Mr. Aluotto stated the District would be meeting with them the end of March. District staff will sit in for the final specification meetings of county projects and offer alternatives for the products being used. Mr. Portune asked if it would be appropriate for the Policy Committee to consider as an addendum, establishing or outlining goals in terms of the percentage content of materials. This would not be a requirement but something that could serve as a benchmark to gage if Facilities and Public Works are following through with best efforts to consider cost effective alternatives. Mr. Aluotto stated that USEPA does have recommendations that they make on various product categories and the percent recycled-content a product would need to be in order to be deemed recycled-content. District staff will develop recommendations for the Policy Committee to approve on behalf of the District. Dr. O'Reilly stated that he would encourage the staff to look at the web site for the General Services Administration which is gsa.gov. This web site contains the whole set of regulations dealing with federal procurement and federal procurement preferences for recycled-content. Sue Magness, the District's Education Specialist, has been working with United Purchasing which is the organization that purchases for schools in southwest Ohio and they have agreed to include recycled-content paper for the bid specifications for the 2002-2003 school year. The District's Community Specialist has met with the local architect for the Great American Ballpark in terms of asking them to include recycled-content materials in their construction. GBBN is the local architect that is working on the Great American Ballpark. The Community Specialist met with GBBN in November, 2000 to talk about product specifications for the ballpark. GBBN gave the District 7 or 8 binders full of potential products that they need specifications for. After looking through the binders, the Community Specialist identified approximately 3 pages of products that could be used for the ballpark. The difficult part in all of this was to make sure the recycled-content products were not more expensive, the colors matched, the durability was the same, etc. Different products that specifications were drawn up for include bathroom partitions which are cheaper, are resistant to graffiti, etc. Other materials include carpet, ceiling tile, paint, formaldehyde free wall board and others. GBBN is very receptive to the use of all of the recycled-content products identified by the District. Many organizations have contacted the District regarding the specifics of sustainable design. One of the goals of the District is to reach out to some of the regional projects in Hamilton County and encourage them to implement some of the ideas.
Mr. Riddle reported on the effects of glacial till in Hamilton County. According to a study in The Ohio Journal of Science, glacial till is not a concern in Hamilton County due to the geology of the site as well as operating and excavating procedures.
V. TENTATIVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
VI. POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS' COMMENTS
VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS The second new element is a pin Ms. Holterhoff is wearing which says "give and gain". Gain detergent, which is a Procter & Gamble product, asked Keep America Beautiful to implement the reuse program. P & G already had a component of collecting recyclable products and they asked to expand it to collect clothes. P & G contacted Keep Cincinnati Beautiful to implement the expanded clothes reuse program. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and the boy scouts have partnered to collect the clothes on April 1, 2001. The goal is to collect 1 million pounds of clothes. There will be three locations around the City for collection. Ms. Holterhoff stated that they would also like to secure a county building to put a collection box in. The clothes will be going to the Free Store. Mr. Portune suggested Ms. Holterhoff speak with Bill Stoutberg with Hamilton County regarding obtaining a county building for collection. Ms. Holterhoff thanked the District for sponsoring the tire collection event. Ms. Brugger reminded everyone that Earth Day was on April 21, 2001 at Sawyer Point. Environmental Services will have a booth. Ms. Brugger invited everyone to join in on Earth Day celebrations.
VIII. UPCOMING DISTRICT MEETINGS
IX. ADJOURNMENT |
