R2010-59 AUTHORIZING SECOND EXTENSION OF CONTRACT

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. � DEVELOPMENT SERVICES MEMORANDUM No. 10-23 March 29, 2010 TO: Honorable Mayor Mike McElroy and Ci Council Members FROM: Ryan P. McCrady, City Manager Greg C. Crowe, Assistant City Manag � .��'��.�-� Vasudha Pinnamaraju,AICP, Environ ental Planner � SUBJECT: 6-month Residential Recycling extension with Suburban Disposal SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the 6 month recycling extension with Suburban Disposal for the City's residential curbside recycling program. BACKGROiJND: The City Council approved a five (5) year contract in 2004 and a six (6) month extension in 2009 with Suburban Disposal to provide residential curbside recycling pickup. The current contract is set to expire March 31, 2010. The proposal would extend the contract until September 30 2010. The terms of the contract will be extended throughout the 6 months. City staff has researched various successful curbside recycling programs in the past six months. Following were the two notable factors that contributed towards success of these programs: 1. Single stream recycling. 2. Education on recycling The City of Decatur's existing multiple stream recycling requires the recyclables to be sorted by type and cleansed before they are placed in the recycle bins. It also limits the types of recyclables. The participation rate for the City's existing curbside recycling program is 15.0%. Switching to a single stream recycling expands the types of recyclables,does not require cleansing and separation. It acts like a trash bin for recyclables. Staff expects the switch from multiple streams to single stream recycling to improve the participation rate dramatically. It is anticipated that single stream recycling will cost more than the City's current multiple stream recycling program which is currently $1.65 per month paid 100 percent by City residents on their water bill. Education is a key to improve the recycling rates. Cites with successful curbside recycling programs have good educational programs. Several progressive cities have taken education a step further by rewarding people for recycling. The rewarding process embeds the recycling education. However, it also increases the cost of the curbside recycling program. Staff inet with a company called Recycle bank (www.recyclebank.com) a leader in administering the rewards program for recycling. The company claims to make the rewards program cost neutral. Following will be the timeline of activities during the next 6 months. Issue an RFP for sin le stream rec clin alon with an o tional rewards ro ram A ri12010 Pro osal due date June 2010 Award the contract June 2010 Pro ram start date October 2010