Resource Recycling Advisory Council

Minutes July 24, 2023 Regular Meeting Via Webex Present: Stephan Allison, Nicole Charles, Eleanor Nettleton, Krishna Winston, John Yarmolovich, Tisha Zawisky Others Present: Steven Gomes Staff Present: Kim O’Rourke, Recycling Coordinator I. Call to Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:03pm. II. Public Comment Steven Gomes gave an update on his efforts to build a container-redemption center in the North End of Middletown. He was not feeling hopeful that he would be in a position to continue the process and use his ARPA and DEEP grants because he had not been assigned appropriate space at 180 Johnson Street. After all the time and personal funds he had invested, he said, it was very discouraging to have the City fail to accommodate his needs. III. Acceptance of Minutes The minutes of the June regular meeting were accepted as presented. IV. Recycling Coordinator’s Report K. O’Rourke referred to her written report. She updated the Commission on the food waste co-collection pilot program. She announced that the City would be presented in the current week with options by the consultant and would then formulate a plan to move forward; the plan would be submitted for consideration by several commissions in the summer and be forwarded to the Common Council in September. Several community outreach meetings were being planned in cooperation with the Sustainable CT and Wesleyan interns for the month of August. She mentioned that she was receiving a good deal of input from participants in the co-collection pilot, 95% of which was positive. Many of the comments revolved around the size of the bags and the effects of the intense summer heat on the condition of the food scraps awaiting disposal. N. Charles mentioned that NYC would be requiring residents to separate their food waste from trash by 2024. Members discussed the various upcoming events, including the Open Air Market and Farmers’ Market, and signed up to participate. K. O’Rourke reviewed issues the City is having with trash from the pilot program being rejected from the Murphy Road facility on Industrial Park Road. T. Zawisky asked about the meeting with the Superintendent of Schools. K. O’Rourke said she and the Public Works Director had met with the Superintendent to start planning for the upcoming school year. She said a second meeting is scheduled with the Superintendent and the food services and facilities directors. K. Winston reviewed the request to contribute to the Sustainable CT Matching grant program for introducing reusables to the school cafeterias in a partnership of the schools and the City with Rethink Disposables. T. Zawisky asked why the schools were not funding the purchase. K. O’Rourke explained that the schools had already invested in reusable trays and breakfast bags and had a plan for phasing in reusables, but the BOE’s budget was not sufficient to cover the entire cost. S. Allison asked about the field trip to Ridgefield to look at the Aerated Static Pile. K. O’Rourke explained this system and how it worked. She suggested that it might be done regionally. More space would be needed than the Recycling Center could provide, and funding would be needed. V. Chair’s Report K. Winston said the Sustainable CT team was in the final stages of completing the application, due on August 15. VI. Swap Shack Schedule: K. Winston said she had designed a poster to discourage misuse of the Shack. If the abuse continued, the City would need to consider closing the facility and devising a plan to allow it to reopen under more effective control. July 31 – N. Charles Aug 7 – S. Allison Aug 14 – J. Yarmolovich The Chair asked K. O’Rourke to send the rest of the schedule out to members for signing up. VIII. Other Business • K. O’Rourke announced that a field trip to the new Murphy Road recycling facility had been scheduled for August 23, with a limited number of spots available. • T. Zawisky asked whether the large Santa container at the Recycling Center would be removed. K.O’Rourke said she would follow up on it for the next meeting. • Members agreed to skip the August meeting. • K. Winston reported on DEEP’s Bottle Bill Stakeholder group, promising to write up a summary of the meeting. • K. Winston announced that Kat Owens was meeting with a group working on banning the small liquor bottles. Some municipalities in Massachusetts had banned the sale of these bottles, but CT would need legislation to allow municipalities to enact such a ban. K. Owens had asked whether any Commissioners would be interested in participating in these meetings. J. Yarmolovich suggested sending out the QR Code in the tax bills to make it more convenient for residents get Recycling Center passes. IX. Adjournment J. Yarmolovich moved adjournment, seconded by S. Allison. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 pm. Respectfully submitted, Kim O’Rourke Recycling Coordinator