Maximizing Waste Diversion in Apartment Buildings. Piloting a Multi-Residential Source Separated Organics Program

Transcription

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2 Maximizing Waste Diversion in Apartment Buildings Piloting a Multi-Residential Source Separated Organics Program

3 Agenda Background The Program Planning Implementation Evaluation Best Practices Next Steps 3

4 Regional Municipality of Halton Halton Region Population 2011 Census Burlington 175,779 Halton Hills 59,008 Milton 84,362 Oakville 182,520 Total 501,669 4

5 Multi-Residential Buildings Buildings Units TOTAL ,000 5

6 GreenCart Program supports Halton Region Solid Waste Management Strategy Ontario 3R s Regulations The Regional Official Plan ROPA 38 Sustainable Halton 6

7 Background 7

8 Background To increase waste diversion, a SSO program needs to be implemented in Multi-residential (MR) buildings. Many challenges due to MR design, infrastructure and waste collection systems 8

9 How We Got Here 2008 Implemented the GreenCart program Region-wide to all single family homes Apartment buildings began requesting the GreenCart program Introduced the GreenCart program to all 355 townhouse complexes 9

10 How We Got Here Fall 2010 Asked to provide updated collection standards for ROPA 38 Planned a GreenCart MR pilot project to develop best practices for these updated standards. 10

11 The Program 11

12 The Program 2010 Choose 4 apartment buildings in the local municipalities Buildings were chosen based on location, size, and waste collection system 12

13 The Program 168 Plains Rd W Burlington 456 Brock Ave Burlington 1379 Costigan Rd Milton 221 Robinson Rd Oakville 160 units 82 units 71 units 52 units 12 floors 10 floors 6 floors 4 floors - Garbage chutes - Recycling room on main floor - Tri sorter chute - Recycling room on each floor - Main garbage room in underground parking - Garbage chute - Recycling on main floor - Attached to ICI location 13

14 Planning 14

15 Planning Halton Region worked in partnership with Property Managers and on-site Superintendents to develop the specific program for each building Halton Region set clear goals and objectives: Increase awareness about apartment waste collection programs Develop baseline data (diversion rates, capture rates) Develop best practices for Region-wide implementation of a MR waste diversion program 15

16 Planning Initial meetings with Property Managers, Superintendents and Condo board members (if applicable) Review the GreenCart program How the program would work at each specific building Best practices learned from other municipalities Implementation plan 16

17 Planning Collect building information Number of units Number of floors Resident demographics Age, language, etc. Current collection schedule Contact information Schedule Start Date & Open Houses Implementation day Afternoon and Evening open houses 17

18 Communication Material Multi-residential Recycling Booklet Residents Superintendents Acceptable items posters for all 3 streams (GreenCart, Blue Box, and Garbage) Acceptable items stickers for 360 L totes 18

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20 Implementation 20

21 Implementation One week prior to start date Letter delivered to all on-site superintendents and residents When program starts What is being delivered to residents What is being delivered to the building Details of how the program works and how to effectively use it Open house dates and times General FAQ 21

22 Implementation Residents Blue box Kitchen Catcher MR Recycling booklet Superintendents Green totes (depending on building size) MR Recycling booklet Large BPI compostable bags bio-enzyme spray information on bin cleaning services 22

23 Bins Blue Box (22-litre/6-gallon) Kitchen Catcher (7-litre/1.84-gallon) Green Tote (360-litre/95-gallon) 23

24 Open Houses Two sessions on two separate days Day of start Day after implementation Each open house was 2 hours long and had 2 staff available 24

25 Evaluation 25

26 Apartment Resident Survey Summer % response rate 70% of respondents using the GreenCart program 69% of respondents like the Kitchen Catcher Reasons for not participating included: Worried about odours and pests Don t want to buy bags The program is inconvenient in my building 26

27 Waste Audits November stream waste audit of all four buildings Conducted by VanRooyen Waste Solutions 27

28 Waste Audit Evaluation 168 Plains Rd W Burlington 456 Brock Ave Burlington 1379 Costigan Rd Milton 221 Robinson Rd Oakville 34.4% Diversion 43.7% Diversion 26.8% Diversion 18.2% Diversion 9.18 kg total waste / unit kg total waste / unit kg total waste / unit kg total waste / unit Great onsite superintendents Great onsite superintendents Location of GreenCarts is inconvenient Business garbage appears to be in apartment waste bin 28

29 Waste Audit Contamination GreenCart contamination rate is 2% Diapers Plastic bags Laminated plastic films Blue Box contamination rate is 15% Other plastics Other glass Textiles Durable plastics 29

30 Kitchen Catcher Study To determine resident s preference to inunit collection bin for SSO 5 bins tested with varying characteristics Ventilation, colour, size 30

31 Study Evaluation Characteristics preferred: A larger bin is preferred (8.5 L) A lid that has the ability to stay open An easy to use latch A neutral colour (beige/white) 5 L bin was considered too small Ventilated lids had polarizing responses: either extremely positive or extremely negative 31

32 Best Practices Build a relationship with the Property Manger and Superintendents Have afterhours open house sessions Encourage residents to use BPI Compostable bags and/or paper bags Encourage superintendents to clean Green Totes frequently Make the program fit the building Make all waste programs convenient Ask the residents (get their input) Have additional material available for new residents 32

33 Next Steps 33

34 GreenCart Expansion into Remaining Apartments Developing a plan to introduce the GreenCart SSO program into the remaining 546 apartment buildings starting in 2013, concluding by 2016 Approximately 110 buildings per year 34

35 Preparation for GreenCart Expansion Visit all buildings in Halton Gather building information Build relationships with on-site property managers Identify Green, Yellow, and Red buildings for future GreenCart implementation 35

36 Contact Nicole Watt GreenCart Program Coordinator Halton Region x