Providence Special Commission on Waste Management-Wednesday, September 25, 2024-5:30 PM

Good evening, folks. This is the special commission for the study of Providence's waste management services. Regular meeting, Wednesday, 09/25/2024. It is 05:37PM. Madam Clerk, would you plan to read the roles?

Patricia Coisey? Present. Sheila Domini? Present. Samantha Burnett?

Present. We have five present, two absent. We have a quorum.

Thank you very much. Like a record reflect that we are joined by Steve Nielsen, our fantastic solicitor, and our wonderful policy staff, Miguel. Okay. Ma'am, please read the first item into the record.

Is the broad discussion of the mission recommendation report.

Okay. So I have a... What exhibit are we on?

We are on 15. Last one, 14.

K. Let's, first, get this, report into the record. May I have a motion to pull this document, which is a one two three four page document entitled special commission for the study of Providence Waste Management Services report exhibit 15. Just moved. Moved by commissioner Dormity and seconded by commissioner Burnett.

All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes have it.

Mister Harris, the the report is entered into the record. Okay. How do we wanna do this? There's a lot here. I think what I'd like to do is, do we have this electronically that we can post?

Are we recording? Are we meeting? We're not live? Yeah. Are live.

Wonderful. Let's put the document up. Right. Yeah. I'll send send it here.

You know? Okay. So that we don't delay. Thank you very much, Miguel. Why don't we have someone start to read this?

Everybody has a copy of the exhibit? Mhmm. Okay. So commissioner Donovan, can I impose upon you to read this? Begin to read this document?

I think we can do it in sections. Great. Why don't we stop when we get to introduction, Commissioner, if you would be kind enough.

Thank you, madam chair. Introduction. On 06/20/2024, the Providence City Council passed resolution four five five nine nine establishing the special commission for the study of Providence's waste management services. The commission was formed to evaluate the city's waste management practices and identify opportunities for improvement in efficiency, sustainability, and cost effectiveness. Providence stands out among Rhode Island municipalities for its robust waste management services, offering a broad range of collection options, including household waste, recycling, yard waste, and bulky item pickup.

The... This extensive service provides a level of convenience and accessibility that many other cities and towns do not offer. However, when service interruptions occur, they can have in... An impact on our rentings causing frustration. The commission acknowledges that these interruptions, though disruptive, are infrequent.

As part of the city's efforts to continually improve waste management services, one of the primary tools we have is the request for proposals issued for trash and recycling falling contracts. This document governs how we engage with our service providers and sets the terms for trash and recycling collection. Many of the recommendations in this report focus on updating and amending the RFP for hauling services, which last went out to bid in 2017. Our goal is to improve communication with the service providers, increase in efficiency, and provide clearer expectations. The city would go out to bid for trash and recycling falling services in October 2024 for a contract to begin in July 2025.

In addition to focusing on the RFP, this report emphasizes the need for a comprehensive education and enforcement program led by the office of sustainability. Many of the issues the city faces, such as recycling contamination, stem from noncompliance with existing waste regulations. By educating the public, updating policies, and enforcing rules consistently, we can alleviate many of these challenges. Currently, Providence has the lowest recycling rate in the state, and truckloads from recycling collection routes are frequently diverted to the landfill because of high contamination rates. This causes the city to exceed the maximum trash tonnage set by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation at a cost of nearly $2,000,000 per year to taxpayers.

Moreover, the commission has also identified opportunities for state legislation advocacy that will support citywide efforts such as advocating for bottle deposit legislation and collaborating with other municipalities for better waste infrastructure. Furthermore, recommendations include infrastructure investments such as updating trash and recycling carts to improve efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, the report seeks to answer a central question. How can we manage success in waste management through realistic actionable changes to our system?

Excellent. Okay. So the the goals are expressed, thank you very much, commissioner Dorvini. The goals are expressed here on reducing city costs related to waste management, improving customer service for residential waste and recycling, reducing the tonnage and waste sent to central landfill, decreasing residential recycling contamination rates, mitigating the impacts of climate change through waste reduction efforts. The commission members have stated here that I kindly ask each to look at the members to make sure that we got everybody's name spelled correctly.

We didn't leave anyone out. And just say aye when we're done. Aye. Aye. Okay?

So recommendations. Since commissioner is such a wonderful reader, could you kindly read the recommendations section of

the report? This is the curse of the competent thing. Keep

them alive.

Recommendations. Waste and recycling hauling compact changes. Require haulers to ensure adequate timing for enforcement inspections before collection. Include performance based incentives for reducing trash tonnage and promote an opt in residential accomplishing program, explore semi automated collection to allow drivers to inspect cart context before collection, require expanded communication strategies from the vendor to improve resident awareness and customer satisfaction, mandate more detailed and accurate data from the vendor to inform decision making, extend yard waste removal periods, and explore options for restructuring frequency or amount of bulky waste items for free pickup, consider hiring a recycling coordinator to oversee compliance and education, state legislation and advocacy, advocate for bottle bill deposit legislation to promote recycling, partner with municipalities to advocate for infrastructure investments at RIRRC, infrastructure investments, replace current trash and recycling carts with standardized right sized containers that include clear recycling instructions. Operations, education, and enforcement.

Implement a route based approach to education and enforcement for targeted improvements. Align local enforcement efforts with RIRRC education campaigns, support opt in residential pickup and drop off composting programs and education at libraries and community centers, expand recycling infrastructure for small businesses, consider setting limits on both the item pickup, frequency, or amounts, pilot strategies aimed at reducing illegal dumping, including enhanced enforcement and outreach, reducing waste tonnage through composting, expanding compost infrastructure for large scale food waste diversion, provide technical assistance to large scale food waste producers to comply with state law and begin composting, establish more backyard composting programs and drop off sites, expand food waste diversion programs in Providence public schools and other community based public buildings. Awesome.

Okay. So the appendix listed here includes all reports and documents that were provided as exhibits, for our meetings, documents, our meetings, and the exhibits, entered into the record. The conclusion is that the special commission for the study of promised waste management services has identified several strategies aimed at comprehensively improving the city's waste management system through policy adjustments, educational campaigns, and construction investments. By implementing these recommendations, the city can gain... Achieve its goals of reducing waste, improving recycling practices, and enhancing sustainability all while maintaining costs.

Ultimately, the commission's efforts are designed to ensure more efficient and effective waste management system for the taxpayers of province, delivering better services and maximizing value for the community. Does anybody have any concerns, questions, thoughts, any additions that you'd like to see? I don't care what's going on. Everybody is in agreement, then just report basically evidences the discussions that we've had at this meeting. Okay.

I actually would like to request, if we can make an amendment to this mission member section just to include our clerks that served as well as our solicitor who served just so we have a full record of everybody who participated in this part... Process. May I have that motion? Motion made by mister Dornay, seconded by mister Burnett. All in favor, aye.

Any opposed ayes have it. Motion carries. That will be that will amend. And, again, can I ask you to make those changes and get a clean copy to the parts? Okay.

With that, would would... Commissioner Normandy would like to say something?

Just that there's an errand period in one of these that I... And so if we can Yes. I will connect with this. Yeah. I'd like to Under operations, education, and enforcement.

Infrastructure?

Yeah. Consider the second one. Right? We need to move. We to add that

to expand recycling. Exactly. And and

there we go. Oh, so we're gonna fix the Well done. The periods in that. Good. Alright.

Anything else? Anybody see anything else? Anybody wanna see anything else? No? Yeah.

I think it's fine. Okay. Awesome. May I have a motion to approve exhibit 15 with this commission's report with the amendments so noted, mow... Made by commissioner Patricia Point Bay with the seconded by commissioner Samantha Bernad and commissioner Doranee.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Have it.

Carry the report. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're done.

Victory is Actually, that. Now the work begins.. I'm take this. You can. Can.

Oh, we're talking.

You're ready to go. This is a

wonderful exercise. I'd like to thank the commissioners for all of your hard work, your commitment. Yeah. Nobody ever missed... Well, we had a couple of misses, but we won't hold them against them.

Anyway, thank you seriously for your commitment and your effort. I think this is a really important exercise, and certainly, the city departments will be well served by executing on many of these recommendations. And the hard work is yet ahead of the administration because you guys are gonna, carry them... Carry the ball go forward on, and I thank you for that. With that, and I have a motion to adjourn made by Can I just take one moment to thank you, chairwoman, for being willing to chair this committee?

Commission and putting so much effort into it, guiding and supporting all of us to get to this in such a. Thank you. Pleasure, ma'am. I will make the motion. Motion made to adjourn.

May I have a second? Seconded by Commissioner Dominic and Mr. Bernadette and. On paper I, we are adjourned.