Farmington

Farmington signs on for single-stream recycling

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by David Wallace Representatives from the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County and Waste Management brought a 64-gallon recycling cart and a 96-gallon recycling cart to the Farmington City Council meeting Jan. 17. Photo by David Wallace Representatives from the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County and Waste Management brought a 64-gallon recycling cart and a 96-gallon recycling cart to the Farmington City Council meeting Jan. 17.

FARMINGTON — The City Council voted 4-0 last month to amend its existing contract with Waste Management to expand recycling services and reduce costs.

The contract amendment allows the city — and Waste Management — to take advantage of the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County’s upgraded recycling facility. Farmington is one of seven communities that make up the authority.

“We have a recycling facility in Southfield, at the northwest corner of Eight Mile and Evergreen. That’s the facility at which the material from your curbside programs is processed and shipped to market,” said RRRASOC general manager Michael J. Csapo. “Our private-sector service provider — the company that handles that material (ReCommunity Recycling) — just invested $4.5 million in that facility. That makes that facility state-of-the-art, the latest and greatest and biggest of its kind here in Michigan. It’s going to add 66 new jobs to the local economy.”

For residents, it should make recycling easier, because they will no longer have to sort their recyclable materials.

“Waste Management is the current hauler and was the low bidder when it won the contract (in 2008). The city can specify that the hauler transition from dual-stream — in which residents separate bottles and cans from paper, for example, and the driver sorts those materials at the curb — to single-stream collection,” said Csapo.

“It also allows for the contractor to not have to sort those things at the curb. They can go all into the truck together,” said Csapo.

The single-stream recycling program will start July 1. Waste Management pledged to provide new carts for people to dispose of their recyclables, and it plans to start using automated trucks that pick up the carts and dump them in the truck. Waste Management plans to power those trucks with compressed natural gas, meaning the trucks should weigh less, operate more quietly and have reduced emissions.

In order to provide those upgrades at no cost to residents, Waste Management asked to extend the contract, set to expire in 2013, to October 2022 to amortize the costs for the new carts and trucks.

“But it is a cost reduction. Along with that cost reduction, because you’re moving to both the single-stream and the carts, you will see an increase in recycling volume. Typically, when a community moves to carts, they see a 40 percent increase in recycling,” said Csapo. That means additional annual revenues estimated at $6,400 from the sales of the additional recycled materials. The contract amendment also lowers costs for an annual savings of approximately $8,800 and an overall cost savings of $15,200.

“So overall, you’re looking at about a 3.6 percent cost reduction, as well as an improvement in service, and no capital costs for the carts themselves,” said Csapo.

One potentially controversial part of the switch to single stream is the size of the carts. Csapo and Waste Management District Manager Sam Caramagno showed the council 96-gallon carts and 64-gallon carts.

“Either work. We brought both of those because we have found that there is in some cases a little bit of hesitation to move directly to a cart this big from the existing bins, so we have the 64-gallon cart that could be deployed, as well. And that’s something we can work out with the city as we move forward,” said Csapo.

“I’m really excited to see the larger recycling receptacles, because our 18-gallon (receptacle) is always overflowing. I was just going to offer the comment that sometimes with the smaller garage sizes … the 64-gallon bin may be more conducive to putting inside of a garage. Especially in Farmington, I know there’s a lot more smaller garages or one-car garages that might make that a little bit more conducive to storing inside a garage,” said City Councilwoman Kristin Kuiken.

“We do think that there’s maybe a solution where we do have to provide both size bins. That’s a logistic issue that we have to work out with the Department of Public Works and the contractor, and we’ll certainly do that long before they order the new bins,” said Csapo.

He said many people will recycle more and be able to replace an existing trash can.

Farmington’s approval is pending the Farmington Hills City Council’s approval of the contract amendment, because Waste Management considers both cities one service area. Farmington Hills is scheduled to consider the contract amendment at its 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 City Council meeting at City Hall, 31555 W. 11 Mile Road.

At the Jan. 23 Farmington Hills City Council meeting, resident Norene Yuskowatz warned that the carts might pose a problem.

“I don’t have room for it in my garage, and so it will have to stay outside my garage,” said Yuskowatz.

“I think the recycling part of it is going to attract people and retain people, but the look of it is not quite, I don’t think, what this community would really like to see,” said Yuskowatz.

“That is a concern, and we are going to be looking into that,” said Farmington Hills Mayor Barry Brickner.

Farmington Mayor Tom Buck was not at the Jan. 17 meeting when Farmington adopted the contract amendment.

Farmington officials said that while the service could have been bid out, the 2008 bid process covered all city waste services and drew five firms, but the next lowest firm’s bid cost about 27 percent more than Waste Management’s bid, and Waste Management is lowering its price with the amendment.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1053.