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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020_02_04 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative Meeting Notes, February 4, 2020 Attendees: Mitch Green,Jeff King, Steve Altieri, Sue Odierna,June Wallach, George Roniger,Todd Isberg, Arlene Novich, Elizabeth Poyet, Lisa McDonald (Larchmont Environmental Committee), Matt Thomas, Karen Khor, Frank Owens, Bonnie Weinbach, Kevin Crowe, Diane Neff, Steve Moser, Nick Zuba,Judy Caputo, Beth Radow, Chris Hofstedt, Ellen Silver(Village of Mam'k Comm for the Environment), Karin Weisburgh, Girl Scout Leader Lisa Pascetta with girl scouts Molly and Domitrille, Nicole Gassman &daughter Stella Introduced guests Michelle Sterling (Scarsdale Food Waste Recycling Leader) and Patti Capparelli (Rye Enviro Committee) New volunteers were introduced:Will Thompson Notes of January 7th meeting were accepted. Reusable Bag Initiative(RBI) Mitch asked if there were any updates on the NY State law banning plastic bags which goes into effect on March 1st. He had heard from a neighboring environmental organization that NYS was potentially diluting the law. Sue and Jeff K. said they had not heard anything formal, but that there were grumblings from environmentalists as there have been for months that the law is not strong enough and should not rely on cities and counties to institute a fee on paper bags. Update: The NYS law will go into effect as written on March 1st. What is unclear is when/if Westchester County will opt in to the 5-cent fee on paper bags. Environmentalists and others are pushing for this and we have heard that the County will opt in, not in time for the March 1st date, but likely in April. Sue to participate in a Citizens Campaign for the Environment(CCE)conference call on this topic on Wednesday, Feb.26th and will update at the Collaborative's March meeting. Food Waste Recycling—Curbside? Steve A. reported on the County's Food Waste Report. The County Study recommended significant changes to the "status quo", in which the County: • charges a tipping fee of$29.92/ton for garbage to the Peekskill incinerator, • accepts Recycling at no cost • allows municipalities to handle Food Scraps Recycling as they see fit(the Sanitation Commission pays about $60 per ton to Suburban Carting to pick up our food waste at Maxwell Avenue and haul it to a composter in Ulster County) The County Food Waste Study proposed a change in the status quo, which would include: • charging a tipping fee to municipalities (for 2020, about$29.92/ton)for garbage to the Peekskill incinerator, • charging the same tipping fee to municipalities for Food Scraps Recycling For the County, the long-term goal is to find a composting site or build a digester but the latter is a very pricy proposal. The short-term plan includes the County picking up food waste beginning in September at sanitation facilities in communities that are already participating in food waste recycling and transporting to the Ulster County composting site. Currently we pay Suburban$600/month to transfer the food waste so that cost could be saved if County removes the waste. In August, a pilot community would bring food waste to Yonkers and see 1 how that progresses. Steve A said he would like to check to see if the County would let the Sanitation Commission (ToM/VoL)combine forces with the Village of Mam'k Sanitation Dept to do the pilot as one community. These proposals represent a significant change in direction toward sustainability for the County, and would "level the playing field"for municipalities(including residents and taxpayers)concerning Food Scraps recycling. Steve A. also reported on a private company in CT called "Curbside Compost"that provides curbside collection. They charge residents$32/month for this service, which includes once/week pickup and leaving a clean bin when the filled bin is taken. A community needs to have a minimum of 100 subscribers in order to qualify for this service. In order to have a fee of less than$32/month, there would need to be 400-500 homes participating. Discussion ensued regarding how many Sanitation District(TOM+ VOL)homes currently recycle their food waste, but that is difficult to determine since not everyone uses a kit sold by the Town;some bring food waste in garbage bags or other containers, and the Collaborative currently has no "Food Scraps Recycling Registry". About a ton of food waste is dropped off at Maxwell Ave each week. Beth asked is there a goal number of food waste recyclers whereby curbside pickup would be cost effective. Steve A. responded that it is more complicated than a count on homes recycling. There are other variables such as back-door trash pickup, which takes workers more time, and switching out a weekly garbage pickup day for a weekly food waste pick up day, which would likely get opposition from residents. Jeff said it is a process to arrive at once/week trash pickup and once/week food waste pickup and of course, VoL would need to agree. Steve A. mentioned that Pay As You Throw(PAYT) would be a good incentive for residents to throw out less trash, and that he and Nancy are in favor of it, but the County is not so sure. The Collaborative also endorsed PAYT in 2014 as one of the recommendations of the Columbia University Sustainability Masters Program's "Larchmont- Mamaroneck Net-Zero Waste"Study. The County is concerned about contamination to the recycling and the food waste if municipalities go to PAYT since those items would be picked up for free and other trash would have a cost. There was discussion about the potential difficulty of finding the PAYT bags because in certain cities, they were difficult to find. Steve A. said that would not be an issue here, as the Sanitation Commission would ensure bags were stocked in local supermarkets and drug stores. Beth R. said this brings in "Love your Food"(LYF)as residents employing LYF ideals make less waste to begin with,so there's less to pay as you throw! Other benefits:PAYT gives consumers "control of their trash,"it pays 50%-60%of sanitation costs, and therefore backdoor pickup could be continued. Guest and food waste recycling volunteer expert Michelle Sterling was asked her opinion on PAYT. She says it absolutely works, many areas participate in this including the entire state of Vermont but she understands that it is a hard sell to residents and therefore difficult for the TB to approve. Re:percentage of Scarsdale residents who recycle food waste, it is currently 25%. Scarsdale tried to go to one- day trash pickup/one day food waste pickup but residents objected at public hearings. She feels they need to have at least 50%of residents recycling food waste to get enough of Scarsdale behind this and change the pickup logistics. Michelle does not like the fee-based,private carter pickup service mentioned above("Curbside Compost"),saying it's not equitable as those who can pay for it, can participate and others cannot. By excluding certain residents who cannot pay a private carter, you have a social justice issue so, and as a model for the larger Westchester County community, using a private carter is not a good idea. In addition, dealing with private carters creates other conflicts when they say they cannot take certain items any longer. 2 Michelle believes that the goal instead should be to increase those recycling food waste. In Scarsdale, they try to get 50 new subscribers to the food waste recycling program each month --working towards the goal of 50%of the Town participating. Michelle added that usually she is not an advocate of waiting for things to happen but now that the County is on board to make changes come September,she thinks the Town should hold off on making any changes. Patti Capparelli from the Rye Sustainability Committee discussed their food waste recycling program. They currently have 150 households that each pay$52 per year for curbside pickup. Issues are arising now that the program is increasing in popularity and there is not enough staff to sustain the pickups. She does not think Rye is ready to give up a day of garbage pickup for food waste pickup. Steve A. suggested that before making any changes, we should see what the County is going to do, if they are going to pick up the(Suburban) tipping fees and then, if there is a willingness for one day of garbage pickup and one day of food waste pickup, we will have more flexibility with options. Steve added that financial analysis has been done regarding going to one-day trash and one-day food waste pickup. Mitch asked Jeff what the TB would do on this. Jeff said this is all very new, the County has just this week said they will start food waste pickup in September and so the Town needs to digest the information. Beth suggested that the Collabs could still do a marketing campaign to increase food waste recycling households, no need to wait until September for that. Michelle believes that the goal instead should be to increase those recycling food waste. In Scarsdale, they try to get 50 new subscribers to the food waste recycling program each month --working towards the goal of 50%of the Town participating. Michelle added that usually she is not an advocate of waiting for things to happen but now that the County is on board to make changes come September,she thinks the Town should hold off on making any changes. Patti Capparelli from the Rye Sustainability Committee discussed their food waste recycling program. They currently have 150 households that each pay$52 per year for curbside pickup. Issues are arising now that the program is increasing in popularity and there is not enough staff to sustain the pickups. She does not think Rye is ready to give up a day of garbage pickup for food waste pickup. Steve A. suggested that before making any changes, we should see what the County is going to do, if they are going to pick up the(Suburban) tipping fees and then, if there is a willingness for one day of garbage pickup and one day of food waste pickup, we will have more flexibility with options. Steve added that financial analysis has been done regarding going to one-day trash and one-day food waste pickup. Mitch asked Jeff what the TB would do on this. Jeff said this is all very new, the County has just this week said they will start food waste pickup in September and so the Town needs to digest the information. Beth suggested that the Collabs could still do a marketing campaign to increase food waste recycling households, no need to wait until September for that. Boston Post Road (BPR)Complete Streets Frank O. reported that a representative of AKRF who offered to get grant funding for a study on Boston Post Road approached him. Steve M. mentioned that DOT did a study in 1997. He also said that Sustainable Westchester has a transportation group but not sure what they are working on. Steve A. said there was an emphasis on making Post Road safer for pedestrians. What came out of the 1997 study would eliminate lanes in both directions, leaving only one lane in each direction for cars. NYS wanted all three municipalities to agree but 3 there were conflicts because the ToM does not allow parking on Boston Post Road while the Villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck do. Steve M suggested now would be a good opportunity to reintroduce BPR as the Town is working on a comprehensive plan and mobility is an important part of a plan. Steve A. responded that specific projects are not part of a comprehensive plan;it is a policy document, not a programs/projects document. Nick Z. asked if BPR's proximity to LI Sound is taken into consideration;is flooding and sustainability looked at as part of the plan? Mitch suggested that, if the Town Board wants to, could we bring NYS back into a discussion? Repair Café The date has been set for the first-ever Town of Mamaroneck Repair Café. It will be held on Saturday, March 14th from 12noon to 5pm at the Mamaroneck Senior Center in the large room where the Collaborative meets. George and Todd updated the group on their progress. Many volunteers have signed up to help though we can still use more, in particular, those who can repair jewelry,sew clothes or stuffed animals, and those(teens would be nice) who can watch children and/or do artwork with children while their parents are getting their item fixed. The Village of Larchmont and Mamaroneck's environmental committees have offered to help by getting the word out. VoL will send out an e-blast next week. Mitch agreed that spending some of the Collabs budget on signage, a banner and other necessary items was a good thing. Sue to discuss with Nancy and Steve A. We have promoted the Repair Café on FB pages& NextDoor, this will continue. Update from George as of 2/24: We have 1 volunteer on PC computers and related repairs,3 volunteers for bikes, 1 volunteer for ceramics, 2 volunteers for woodworking, 2 volunteers for sewing/mending,2 volunteers for sharpening, 1 volunteer for motor repair, 1 volunteer for"editing,"3 volunteers for general"fix anything" and "miscellaneous." Can use someone for"general electrical" and still looking for volunteers to bake and/or bring snacks/fruit and a children's corner. Also,Sue thought background piano music would be nice as the room has a piano,trying to get volunteers—if anyone knows someone, please let Sue know(have called local music schools and MHS Music Dept.) Nancy did an interview on WVOX Radio(Sue sent audio clip out to Collabs.) LMC-TV will do a video shoot next Monday, March 2nd @ 4pm at Senior Center;we'd love a big crowd there for the shoot. Please let George/Todd/Sue know if/how you can help with the Repair Cafe. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM. The next Collaborative meeting is Tuesday, March 3,2020. 4