2023-041 Recycling Contamination Update June 9,2023 Report No. 2023-041
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Recycling Contamination Update; October 1, 2022- May 31, 2023
BACKGROUND:
The City of Denton Solid Waste and Recycling Department(SWR)has diligently worked towards
reducing the recycling contamination rate from 68% in January 2021. SWR has implemented
various programs, including cart auditing, and tagging, focused outreach, and container
modifications, to reduce recycling contamination from homes, apartments, and businesses.
Contamination is described as non-programmatic material placed in the cart, for example,
Styrofoam,bagged recyclables, and flexible plastic (film).
DISCUSSION:
In the first eight months of FY 2022-23, SWR has seen a significant decrease in overall citywide
recycling contamination. In May,the City saw a monthly record low for the past two years of 36%.
Overall Contamination Rate
80%
70%
60% 50% 45% 47/° ° 54% 51%
50% 46% 44% 46% 47/0 39% 45%
39%
40% 47
44% 44% 42% 44%
30/ 37% 36% 36%
20%
10%
0%
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FY 22/23 FY 21/22
Residential Cart Audits
Much of this success is attributable to the City's Cart Tagging Program. As an overview, the cart
tagging program focuses on auditing cart contents, at the curb, on the highest contaminated routes
as reported by the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operators in the previous month. Each audit
consists of an external audit of the physical cart wherein any faded or missing educational stickers
June 9,2023 Report No. 2023-041
are replaced. Broken lids, wheels, and/or bodies are identified, and work orders are issued to
initiate cart repairs in future weeks. A visual audit inside the cart results in the issuance of one of
three tags; first a "Notice tag" when minimal contamination is seen and removed from the cart,
second an "Oops tag" when the contamination level exceeds
the allowed 15%,and,lastly,a"Recycling Star tag"when the
resident's cart if filled with empty, clean, loose, and dry
programmatic material. If flagged as contaminated, each cart
plastic Film is NOT is provided with an educational door hanger, which outlines
accepted in Denton's the rules of our recycling program, the dos and don'ts of
Recycling program recycling properly, and information showing what is
considered plastic film or flexible plastic, as pictured to the
left.Plastic film is one of the most seen contaminants and most
problematic materials at our MRF. Plastic film can bind
sorting equipment and cause the MRF's equipment to shut
' down for hours necessitating the removal of tangled plastic.
now
Over 3,214 homes have been audited in the past three months,
resulting in 562 homes being notified of contamination issues
and given additional helpful information. This is an audit
contamination rate of 35% in residential curbside carts.
The cart tagging program's efforts extend beyond the work of
cart auditing. SWR truck operators service recycling carts each
cH�p week at the curb and can identify large bulky contamination
easily. Over the past eight months, operators have tagged
plastic film includes bread bags,plastic bags,produce 4,910 homes as contaminated.
bags,n w5Is r bags,a r pillows case o rap,dry
cleaning bags,plastic mailers andechips
Envolutro p/dstico no es ac eptodo en su bore ozul de reciclo)r.
Commercial Audits
The Commercial Division services recycling at contracted businesses, schools, universities, and
multifamily throughout Denton, serving around 500 recycling customers each week. Like
residential service, commercial service has seen a 11% decrease in contamination since October
2022, ending in May with a 32% contamination rate. Commercial contamination audits are
conducted on both the highest contaminated routes and all routes by the truck operators. If a
container is identified as contaminated (Greater than 15% contamination) the customer is placed
on a "Do Not Collect" (DNC) list, which triggers communication with customers to discuss
remediation, customers have the option to clean and have collected as recycling or pay extra to
have the dumpster emptied as trash. Recycling Container Audits are completed 24 hours before
the collection day and contaminated containers will remain on the DNC list until a resolution has
been found.
A team of coordinators works to educate business owners and multifamily tenants to remedy the
contamination as soon as possible with an average of five days on the list.Education efforts include
June 9,2023 Report No. 2023-041
business meetings,material to hang in common areas within the business, and training material for
staff.
Since October 2022, SWR operators have tagged 285 containers as contaminated, 138 of these
containers were placed on the DNC. Of those 138, 53%(73)of these commercial properties choose
to remove contamination themselves,have the container collected as recycled material,and receive
educational material. In some instances, businesses may continue to have contaminated recycling
containers, and additional measures are taken such as restrictive lids. In the last 8 months, 937
proactive audits have been conducted on the highest contaminated routes.
Outreach
Through a partnership with Environmental Services & Sustainability, an increased level of
outreach to residents and businesses has been implemented. In FY 22/23, SWR's primary
campaign is to make the public aware of and reduce bagged recyclables in carts. In both
commercial and residential customers,bags and film is the primary contaminant. A higher-impact
marketing strategy has recently been implemented to bring awareness to plastic film and reach
residents who do not typically subscribe to the usual SWR media channels. Some of the highlights
over the past year have included movie theater ads, a Billboard, and direct mailers to all residents
including multifamily, mobile homes, and single-family homes. While social media posts are
crafted to target the top contaminants, residents that already subscribe to our communication
channels are the ones who are impacted. Including bill stuffers and direct mailers in the strategy
has allowed us to expand the reach of recycling education within the city and reach residents
through different methods. A movie
theater ad with the primary message of the
importance behind not using plastic bags
and programmatic material ran at two
BA
cycle Smart! , movie theaters in Denton for four weeks
NO BAGS and received a total of 59,888 impressions
/N YOUR CART DENTONRECYCLES.COI based on box office ticket sales. A
7"'1 1s>rs. billboard was introduced into the strategy
and located at Dallas Drive and Teasley
from November to mid-January targeting
residents commuting to Denton for work,
students, and residents living within the
area. The message "Recycle Smart! No
bags in your cart" was used to target
plastic films. Over the 3 months, the billboard received 1.4 million impressions which were
estimated by both traffic and vendor data.
Tours of Pratt's recycling facility and home chemical collection are open to all Denton residents,
organizations,HOA, and schools within DISD, and over 400 residents plus students have attended
a tour since the beginning of the FY. Through presentations, tabling, and activities Sustainability
has hosted 67 events and had over 4,000 residents in attendance since October 2022.
June 9,2023 Report No. 2023-041
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00
CONCLUSION:
With the current rate of contamination, Solid Waste and Sustainability will continue to partner and
follow an action plan to help reduce the contamination. The plan will include the continuation of
audits in all divisions with an emphasis on the highest contaminated routes. Audit findings will
detect top contaminated items to support targeted educational efforts. Upcoming outreach efforts
will include the implementation of higher impact marketing such as Denton Record-Chronicle
audio ads,banner ads, and native articles on their website to further reach Denton residents.
STAFF CONTACT:
Brandi Neal
Administration Manager
Brandi.Neal@cityofdenton.com
(940) 349-8027
REOUESTOR:
Staff initiated
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS:
Solid Waste and Environmental Services and Sustainability