2018-083 Leaf Truck Date: July 6,2018 Report No. 2018-083
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Provide preliminary research on leaf vacuum trucks.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On May 8,2018 Council Member Briggs requested that staff research the feasibility of adding leaf
vacuum trucks to eliminate the use of plastic bags in Solid Waste's yard waste collection service.
Staff estimates that the annual program costs for running a single leaf vacuum truck would be
approximately $341,641. Staff was unable to locate other cities in our area that provide this type
of service and determined that this type of program is primarily located in the northern U.S.
If City Council requests, further research can be conducted and a work session can be scheduled
to discuss the feasibility of implementing this program. As a follow-up to Blue Ridge Services
recommendations, staff will be presenting to the Committee on the Environment and City Council
with an analysis of the residential yard waste program.
BACKGROUND:
On May 8, 2018 Council Member Briggs requested information be provided on the feasibility of
implementing a leaf vacuum truck program to be discussed during the budget process. Staff began
researching the program and reached out to other cities that currently have this program including
Brighton, Michigan and Chattanooga, Tennessee. This would be a modification to the City's
existing service where yard waste is picked up on the trash collection day and leaves must be
bagged. A vacuum truck would require residents to rake the leaves in a pile to the curb where the
truck would then come and vacuum the leaves into the truck. Staff was unable to find cities in our
area that offer this type of leaf collection program. As part of a recent operational review, Blue
Ridge Services recommends converting the City's yard waste collection operation to a cart based
system, similar to residential and commercial recycling collection.
DISCUSSION:
Staff estimates that the annual program costs for a leaf vacuum truck program would be
approximately$341,641. There would be an initial capital investment of approximately$304,000
for the purchase of a roll-off truck and leaf vacuum attachment that would be prorated over five
years. The program would require two full time employees; one employee would be the driver and
an additional employee would be required for operation of the vacuum. Ongoing annual
maintenance and fuel costs have been included for operation of the truck, and some additional
advertising and marketing budget to bring awareness to the program.
The other cities studied had different levels of service in their program that are run seasonally from
November to March. The City of Chattanooga offers the program as an on-demand service where
residents call in to request a pickup once the leaves have been raked to the curb. The City of
Brighton has different service routes for pick-up of leaves with a regular schedule for their
Date: July 6,2018 Report No. 2018-083
residents. Staff has provided information based on if a single route of service would run daily
throughout the City.
If the program were to be implemented, further direction from City Council would be required for
how fees for service would be assessed. One option would be to have costs included in the
residential solid waste rate similar to the current structure with the yard waste program. Another
option would be to charge a fee to customers utilizing the service on an on-call basis. The City
Council will receive a briefing on the Solid Waste department's rates and cost of service on July
17, 2018.
CONCLUSION:
If requested further research can be conducted to fully analyze a leaf vacuum truck program and
present options to City Council during a work session. Staff s recommendation is to perform an
analysis of the existing yard waste program and consider adoption of a cart based collection
system.
STAFF CONTACT:
Ethan Cox
Director of Solid Waste
940-349-7421