The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutIR 8223 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No, 8223 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council o• January 4,2000 UPDATE ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL X Subject:COLLECTION CENTER (ECC) AND ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS In May 1993, the City of Fort Worth became the first city in the north Texas area to offer its citizens a mechanism to dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW) through sponsoring a one-day "amnesty" type collection. From this single event, a program has grown which has become a benchmark throughout the state and the nation. The Environmental Collection Center (ECC)opened its doors on December 11, 1997, as the first permanent HHW collection facility in the Fort Worth/Dallas metro area. The HHW program was established in response to the City of Fort Worth's 1996 NiPDES Storm Water Pen-nit requirement. The ECC and its associated programs have served over 15,000 area residents and diverted over 415 tons of hazardous waste. This waste would other-wise have been sent to area landfills or illegally dumped rather than being disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The key to the ECC's success has been the City of Fort Worth's 'invitation to partner with other municipalities to provide a regional service for collection and disposal. In FYI 999/2000 the City of Fort Worth will contract to provide services to Arlington. Azle, Bedford, Burleson, Colleyville, Euless, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Haltom City, Haslet, Hurst, Newark, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Rhome, River Oaks, Saginaw, Southlake, Stephenville, the Unincorporated areas of Tarrant County, the Upper Trinity Regional Water District and Venus. It is important that the City maintain existing relationships and establish new contracts to ensure that participation at the ECC continues to rise. Elevating the number of participating cities is necessary in keeping the per-household cost lower all for participating cities. As participation rises, the fixed costs are distributed over the increased base of users. The ECC provided service to 5,194 households in FY 1998. This number almost doubled in FY 1999 by providing service to 9,254 households. The City of Fort Worth is able to drop its per I household cost to other cities from 577.00 to 567.00 in FY 2000 due to increased participation. The table below illustrates the relationship between increased participation and reduced per household costs for one-da,, events. Date of Event Number of Cost Per Household Notes � Households Served May 1993 1,539 S154.39 I May 1994 1,593 S96.56 I October 1994 2,062 S 85.75 1, 2, 3 October 1995 2,716 S72.27 1, 2, 3 October 1996 3,384 S 6 3.3 3) 1, 2, 4 April 1997 754 J S69.12 5, 6, 7 1 -Operation and Disposal by Private Contractor done L,,'event at temporary location) 2 -Service offered to other cities in regional partnership 3 -Two locations offered 4-Three locations offered 5 -One-day event offered to City of Fort Worth residents only 6-Operated by City personnel with disposal sen-ices handled by a private contractor 7-Held at permanent facility before opening ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS ............... INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8223 January 4, 2000 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 3 *0_ �s *XJk*_ Subject: UPDATE ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL Ion COLLECTION CENTER (ECC) AND ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS Dallas County operates a program of one-day events as the service provider to its regional network. The cost of this program,which is operated by private contractors and managed by county staff, is approximately$105.00 per household. The statewide average for these services exceeds S172.00 per household. In comparison, the City of Fort Worth operates an efficient and cost effective program for its citizens and those of our participating cities. As part of our strategy to reduce cost, the City investigates every opportunity to recycle the waste it receives. Waste oil, used batteries, and other recyclable waste are either sold or disposed of at no cost resulting in a tremendous savings over standard HHW disposal costs. For example, last year the ECC provided the City Services Department with more than 2,000 gallons of antifreeze for city vehicles. This exchange dropped the purchase of antifreeze by the City and provided the City Services Department a cost savings of at least $4,000 dollars. Much of the waste brought into the ECC for disposal is excess usable material in good condition. Usable fertilizer, animal care products, automotive products, aerosol paint, paint and paint products, aerosol lubricants, and other materials are segregated from the waste stream and placed into our waste exchange area. Citizens are encouraged to browse in the waste exchange area for unopened or barely used material for use in their own home. All waste taken by citizens is documented and they sip a waiver of liability. Sinc,- starting the program, the ECC has given away more than 40,000 pounds of usable products to citizens and saved more than S 15,000 dollars in disposal costs. As we start FY 2000, the goal of ECC and the Environmental Management staff is to increase participation and the volume of waste collected. One wav to realize this coal is through the increased use of the City's HRW Nlobile Collection Unit (NICU). Through a 522,000 grant received from the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TN. 'RCC), the City of Fort Worth purchased an enclosed 36-foot trailer, which was retrofitted for the collection of HEW. The trailer has been named the Crud Cruiser, The Crud Cruiser goes into the community taking the FCC program to persons who may not be able to travel to Bridge Street or may not have an opportunity to utilize the facility. City and area participation at the ECC is tracked using zip codes. Low participating zip codes are targeted with the Crud Cruiser. The design of the Crud Cruiser allows it to accommodate the waste from approximately 50-75 households. In 1999, the-L\/ICU visited more than 30 locations and collected more than 100,000 pounds of waste, The NICU returns to the collection center for disposal of the waste. FUTURE PROGRA-NIS Another mechanism for increasing the volume of waste at the facility is the implementation of a program to accept waste from conditionally exempt small quantity generators (CESQGs) in the 0 community. Currently, CESQGs are allowed to store the waste that they generate in their daily I operation indefinitely. If this waste is not handled properly, it presents a safety hazard to the ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8223 O%WT",,�D January 4, 2000 (0 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 3 of 3 'A Subject: UPDATE ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL X IM COLLECTION CENTER (ECC) AND ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS community at large and a threat to our environment. Under the proposed new program, private businesses that meet the state and federal designation as a CESQG will contract with the ECC to accept their waste. Fees for this service will be based on disposal cost as well as other administrative fees. The program is expected to be in place by the summer of 2000 and is being modeled after similar successful programs across the nation. The upcoming year presents an immense opportunity for household hazardous waste disposal. The ECC will offer the City's first computer/appliance cleanup for one day in the spring. With the current explosion of new computer purchases, residents are discarding-, outdated ones. Area residents are having difficulty finding outlets for old or broken computers. It is proposed that the ECC allow residents and customer cities to bring old computers and small appliances to the Center for proper disposal on a one-time basis. The Department of Environmental tilanagement is grateful for the opportunity to provide this service to our community. For additional information on the ECC and its operations, please contact Brian Boerrier, Environmental Management Director, at 871-8079 a Bob Terrell City Manager LISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS