2017-07-05 ClimateAwards2017Winners

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Honorable Mentions - Large City Columbia Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin Curbside Recycling Program The City of Columbia's curbside recycling program started in April 1991; however in July 2015, the City upgraded the recycling program from collecting in 18 -gallon bins to 95 -gallon roll carts. This was the biggest program change since 1991. City staff recognized the need and demands for increased recycling services. The initial recycling team had developed a model education program in 1991, and the participation rate was almost 70 percent. The 90s were a great success; unfortunately, as time passed there was a slow decline in participation by residents in the city's recycling program. There were continuous complaints that the bins were heavy and hard to get to the curb. The city-wide delivery of the 95 -gallon roll cards was a huge undertaking by the city and resulted in a huge win for the residents. Staff discussed delivery times and schedules. At the end of each discussion, it always seemed to come down to the question of who would get their carts first. Moreover, staff also had to address service issues pertaining to collection times and routes. The logistics of possibly servicing bins and roll carts at the same time with a limited number of trucks had to be worked out. After all these considerations, the answer became very clear. Staff sat down with the delivery crew and decided that all roll carts would be delivered in two weeks, although the crew was on contract for 30 days. Half of the city would receive roll carts in week one. Then in week two, the second half would get roll carts while the city began servicing roll carts delivered during week one. In the end, the delivery crew took 13 days to deliver 34,158 carts. That's equivalent to delivering approximately 2,600 roll carts per day. Residents were ecstatic, and no one complained about not getting his/her cart first. By switching to a twice -per -month collection schedule, the city was able to reduce the number of routes driven by the recycling trucks. This reduced the number of recycling trucks on the road each day. Each route was optimized for efficiency and improved mileage. The trucks are also run on a combination of diesel and biodiesel fuels. Biofuels produce 15 to 75 percent fewer greenhouse emissions than conventional fuels. Biodiesel is better for an engine than conventional diesel, providing greater lubrication and leaving fewer particular deposits behind. With the new carts came new routes and collection schedules. The city decided it would receive the most cost savings by servicing the carts on a twice -per -month schedule. This change brought up the issue of how to identify each service area. Staff understood the need to create a straightforward method of labeling the new service areas so it created a color -coding system for the service areas and their corresponding delivery times. The eight new service areas were given eight corresponding colors. The color coding system helped with the delivery because it was an easy identifier as to what information packets should be delivered to which residents. The out-of-town delivery crew knew to stay within a respective color -coded area and didn't need to take the extra effort in learning the street names. Not one resident received in the incorrect packet. In addition to receiving recycling information, these packets also contained a coordinating color -coded magnet explaining the new delivery schedule. This system also helps the office staff. For example, if a resident calls and says, "My magnet is pink. When is my next service day?" the office staff automatically knows that resident has a first- and third -Friday schedule.