Recycling Ad Hoc Committee

RECYCLING AD HOC COMMITTEE MINUTES - MAY 25, 2021 5/ 25/ 2021 - Minutes 1. Declaration Of A Quorum And Call Meeting To Order Chair Joanie Steinhaus declared a quorum and called the meeting to order at 1: 02 p. m. 2. Roll Call Present ( via videoconference):Board Members Joanie Steinhaus, Cody Wright, Susan Syler, David Fortenberry, Dorothy Trevino, and Dr. Jackie Cole; William Schuster, Ex Officio Council Member; Cindy DeWitt, Director of Administration and Sanitation; Scott Van Slyke, Recycling Department; Dan Buckley, Deputy City Manager; and Janelle Williams, City Secretary. Absent: Stephanie Vasut. 3. Consider For Approval Minutes Of The May 11, 2021 Meeting David Fortenberry made a motion to approve the May 11, 2021 meeting minutes, seconded by Cody Wright. Unanimously approved. 4. Public Comments ( Limited To Three Minutes Each) None. 5. Presentation Of The Staff Member From Federal International ( 15- 20 Minutes And Questions) Federal International representative Ashley Accord discussed with the committee an overview of operations at their Houston facility and provided answers to the questions below from committee members. Questions for staff member: Brief description of their business and how it works. Federal, International has been in business for 100+ years. They use an MRF ( material recovery facility) and a single sort line for sorting the different recyclable materials. How is your plastic recycling sorted? Plastics go through a second sort at their facility. She commended the City of Galveston for the bail loads being so clean. What do the triangles mean? The triangle is an identifier for the different types of plastic. How do the different triangles affect recycling? It is simply the identifier for sorting purposes. What about plastic bags? Are they recycled? How can you recycle plastic bags mixed in with other plastic when most other recycling vendors can' t? Plastic bags are pulled out during a sort at their facility and are bailed separately. If have a mixed plastic recycling process why separate any type? Why not have all together? Galveston does an amazing job and has a lot of buy in from the public so bails are cleaner. This allows for a larger rebate to the city and it reduces contaminants. They mainly see from Galveston the higher grade plastics which they can rebate - number 1 ( water bottles) and number 2 ( HDPE color detergent bottles and HDPE natural milk jugs). Recycling Center staff has simplified the sorting process for plastics to make it more user friendly and easy for everyone.  What is the contamination rate for material from Galveston? Federal, International sees very little contamination from Galveston. Scott has not received any feedback or reports from the vendor about contamination. The materials coming from Galveston are fantastic and Federal is completely happy. Any additional questions from the conversation/ presentation? Scott reported that Federal is very supportive and staff appreciates it. Committee members commended Scott and the staff on recent improvements made at the Recycling Center. Federal picks up recyclable materials from Galveston including plastics, cardboard, and paper. Ashley reported that tours of their facility can be coordinated. Scott recently completed a final disposition audit at Federal and will share the report and photos with the committee. 6. Meeting In Person, Discussion On June 8, 2021 Meeting The committee' s next meeting on June 8, 2021 will be in- person in Room 204 and will also offer a Zoom option. 7. Next Steps/ Goals For Committee Discussion Joanie Steinhaus reported that the charge in the first Resolution applies to the committee' s goals. It will be added to the bottom of the next agenda under Guidelines in the City Council Resolution. Cindy and Scott are working on some pilot programs and would like to run them by the committee at the next meeting. Scott has also been working on some additional educational videos. Cindy reported that staff is still collecting data for possibly changing operating hours at the recycling center. They would like to coordinate changing hours when the new center is open. Scott provided information on current video monitoring at the center. Cindy reported on a recent educational effort sponsored by the Municipal Utilities Department on keeping fats, oil, and grease ( FOG) out of the drains that had a positive outcome with residents recycling these items. Committee members suggested that recycling staff should toot their own horn about accomplishments. 8. Request Agenda Items For Future Meetings Items for the next agenda should be sent to the Chair by Friday, June 4th at Noon. Discussion was held regarding setting up a measuring tool or report to periodically look at statistics of the recycling center to see that it is operating efficiently. Scott reported that a lot of information is already provided in the City Manager' s Report and will be placed on the city' s website. The committee will begin drafting an outline for the final report. Partnering with other organizations such as Rotary, the Chamber, and Homeowners Associations could help to get the word out about recycling. 9. Guidelines In City Council Resolution How to effectively create an environment where residents and visitors have citywide access to recycling How does the City effectively market and advertise its recycling facility What can the City do to make the facility more user friendly Understanding the facility will operate 5- 6 days a week during daylight hours, are some days and times better 10. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 2: 13 p. m. k Janelle Williams, City Secretary Date Approved: June 8, 2021 h t t p s : / / w w w . g a l v e s t o n t x . g o v / 6 d 4 8 8 a 6 8 - f 8 5 a - 4 6 e 5 - 9 7 8 d - a 2 b 4 5 9 6