2021-044 Recycling Contamination and Improvement PlanDate: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Recycling Contamination and Improvement Plan Update FY2021
BACKGROUND:
The City of Denton Solid Waste and Recycling Department (SWR) has noticed a significant
increase in recycling contamination throughout most of FY20/21 in the first eight (8) months.
Much of this increase can be assigned to a change in the global recycling market (which
significantly affects feedstock quality requirements), the increased inclusion of non-programmatic
material into our recycle carts and bins, contamination by water, bags, and plastic film, and
challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Significantly increased recycling contamination
is a nationwide issue, affecting most, if most all, municipal recycling programs. SWR is working
to create a strategy to reduce contamination from homes, apartments, and businesses designed to
increase the diversion of recycling program material from the landfill.
For the eight (8) month period between October 2020 thru May 2021 SWR has collected a total
gross recycling tonnage of 8348 from residents, multifamily units, and commercial partners and a
net tonnage of 3076 resulting in a 63% overall contamination rate.
Figure 1: * FY 21 data is partial year Figure 2: * FY 21 data is partial year
36%36%
43%
63%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21*
CONTAMINATION YEAR OVER
YEAR
Overall
6634
11819 12465
8348
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21*
TONNAGE YEAR OVER YEAR
Gross Tons
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
DISCUSSION:
Residential
Residential contamination rate for the first eight months in FY21, October 2020 – May 2021, is
65%. The source of this contamination is threefold:
1. The classification of previously accepted programmatic recyclable material by our
processor as contamination due to the increased quality standards caused by a closure of
foreign end-use markets.
2. Aspirational recycling by well-meaning residents. The City of Denton can only accept
programmatic material in its recycling program that is placed in the cart empty, clean, dry,
and loose. Bagged material is considered contamination and will be diverted to the landfill.
3. User apathy – many residential recycling carts and most multifamily dumpsters contain
regular household garbage that, when placed in the truck, will contaminated complete loads
delivered to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
To address these concerns, SWR has conceptualized and begun implementing an improved and
aggressive education, outreach, and enforcement program designed to better focus activities
designed to change habits and/or enforce compliance throughout our customer base. With the
implementation of the Rubicon a smart routing system in November 2020, SWR is now better able
to identify program violators on a micro-level (at the residence, a bin within an apartment complex,
or commercial customer.) This information allows us to focus efforts on customers who
consistently do not comply with program requirements.
The first step of this improved outreach and
enforcement program has been to identify which
residential and commercial recycling routes
contribute most to program contamination
levels. The two most contaminated routes are
shown in dark red on the heat map.
The program’s second step has been to identify
the types of contamination/practices on which to
focus our education and outreach efforts. Our
new smart routing software system, Rubicon,
allows us to track the different routes and
identify items that the drivers have documented
through notes and pictures. For February, we
identified 80% of the contamination that our
driver could see as being bags and trash. In the
pictures below, pulled from the Rubicon system,
our drivers were able to catch contamination of
bags and wood when the lid was open and not
collect the cart. Unfortunately, when the lid is
closed our drivers cannot document
contamination before it affects the entire load as
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
seen in the load on the tipping floor of the MRF. The top 5 contamination items are plastic bags,
Styrofoam, yard waste, bulky items, and water/wet items.
SWR takes the information of routes and types of items responsible for high contamination and
has been creating specific, focused educational opportunities and distribute them via direct mail,
Social Media posts, HOA outreach, Recycle Right Q&A, apartment bags/flyers, and commercial
posters.
We would propose that failure to clean up recycling in a cart, after repeated contact, notice, and
education, would result in the removal of that resident's recycling cart from the program.
Commercial
The Commercial contamination rate for October 2020 – May
2021 was 58%.
Like the residential program, we have identified the routes
that were frequent offenders of high contamination. The most
contaminated routes are shown in dark red on the heat map
below.
The type of contamination encountered in recycling loads
was similar to that in residential loads except for increased
wood and furniture originating from multi-family complexes.
This information will be used to create focused education and
outreach to specific sectors of our commercial customer base.
Contamination at the curb Contamination at the curb Contamination at the MRF
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
Landfill Recycling Center and Northlakes
Contamination levels at our Landfill Recycling center have been consistent from February 2020
and May 2021 with an exception of September 2020. September’s 2% contamination was an
anomaly that we haven’t been able to replicate or define.
Our Northlakes Recycling Center has historically experienced high levels of contamination. You
can see below three defining incidents that are affecting our contamination levels. An increase was
seen after the Cupboard Recycling Center was removed from service in March of 2020. To combat
the high contamination, we implemented restrictive lids in October which resulted in a 76%
reduction in contamination from the previous month of September. The restrictive lids were
successful but there was still contamination from illegal dumping which was rectified with the gate
and camera additions resulting in a 35% reduction in contamination from December to January.
21%
25%
16%
18%
16%
10%10%
2%
8%
10%
20%
8%
20%
12%
9%
13%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Landfill Recycling Center
41%44%46%
51%
37%
56%
43%
49%
12%
30%
23%
15%16%
11%8%11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
North Lakes Contamination Levels
Restrictive lids implemented
Dropsiteremoved
Gate and camera added
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
CONCLUSION:
With the high rate of contamination, Solid Waste and Recycling and Public Outreach have
partnered to create an action plan to help reduce the City of Denton’s recycling contamination
rate. Our approach is outlined with a 4-step process.
1. Identify the highest contamination routes
a. Data collected and analyzed
b. A Heat Map is created to narrow the areas of high contamination
2. Identify top contaminating items
a. Utilize new Rubicon software to identify offending items and frequent offenders
b. Work with MRF operator to identify contamination items/reasons
3. Utilize current education tools to target routes and items causing contamination
a. Direct Mail
b. Contact HOAs
c. Social Media
d. Recycling Audits
4. Analyze implemented solutions
a. Create a best practice
b. Repeat Steps 1-3 each month
The condition of the
Northlakes Recycling Site
before restrictive lids,
cameras and gate were
implemented. Residents
were utilizing the drop site
for bulky waste and trash.
The condition of the Northlakes
Recycling Site following the
installation of restrictive lids,
cameras and gates, which reduced
in incidence of illegal dumping.
for bulky waste and trash.
Date: July 2, 2021 Report No. 2021-044
STAFF CONTACT:
Brian Boerner
Director of Solid Waste and Recycling
Brian.Boerner@cityofdenton.com
Tammy Clausing
Businesses Services Manager
Solid Waste and Recycling
Tammy.Clausing@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTOR: Staff Initiated
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS:
Solid Waste & Recycling and Public Outreach