CITY OF AMESBURY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Solid Waste and Recycling Division

By Laurie Pierce, Acting Recycling, Waste, and Compost Coordinator

Using Technology to Improve Recycling

with GIS and Apps

City of AmesburyIncorporated 1668

Population 16,780

Square Miles 13.7

Road Miles 78

Trash and Recycling History• 1/2009 Negotiated new joint collection & hauling contract for Amesbury & Newburyport with G. Mello Disposal Corp.• 1/2009 Three (3) trash barrel limit • 1/2009 Single Stream Automated Recycling• 6/2009 Distributed 64gal. recycling cart • 7/2012 Renewed collection & hauling contract with G. Mello• 7/2012 Bulk Sticker introduced• 7/2012 Changes to Downtown collection (3 to 2)• 10/2013 Received MassDEP WREC Grant (through 6/2016)• 6/2014 Council approved Mandatory Recycling Enforcement Ordinance• 7/2014 Increased education efforts, mailings, door-to-door• 1/2015 Mandatory Recycling Enforcement began

Future:Two (2) trash barrel limit Continued reduction of trash and increased

recycling tonnage with less contamination

Enforcement ToolsESRI –

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.

How it Works:•Information is downloaded from the City’s assessor’s database into the ArcGIS maps. Data is collected from a series of questions created by the user.

•Initially WREC’s follow the recycling truck, one driving and one entering the “Set-out” data.

•Once data is collected it can be downloaded into an excel spreadsheet where the data can be sorted, analyzed and reports generated.

What is it?

Software designed to track and code information regarding residents’ and business owners’ recycling efforts.

This information is then used to support the enforcement of the Mandatory Recycling Ordinance.

Setting up ESRI Data Questions BRAINSTORM – make a list of questions that will answer your enforcement

questions and can quantify your enforcement efforts. Do you want to know if residents have left out e-waste, stacks of cardboard,

bulk items, HHW or yard waste? In the beginning we thought we wanted to know these things, but it

became too tedious to keep track and asked ourselves for what reason. Data to keep track of: Break it down into sections (example 3)

TRASH How many bags? <numeric entry> How many barrels (35 gal.)? <numeric entry> Is recycling seen in trash? <Yes/No> Any bulk items? <Yes/No>

Sticker? <Yes/No> What is the bulk item: <text entry> E-Waste seen? <text entry> White Goods: <text entry>

Sticker? <Yes/No>

Notes? <text entry>

Setting up ESRI Data Questions (cont.)

Data to keep track of: RECYCLING

Recycling out? <Yes/No> How many carts (64 gal.) ? <numeric> How many bins? <numeric> Is trash in recycling? <Yes/No> Notes? <text entry>

GENERAL: Is there a business at this residence? <Yes/No> Visible # of units or addresses? <numeric> Initials of person surveying? Software automatically inputs by

user login. Date/Time? Software automatically tracks as user inputs data. Notes? <text entry>

Will these questions give you the information you need??? What data field will you sort your information on???

Determine what physical attributes you want to designate you data on the iPad for quick information while on the street.

Physical Attributes

Changes to QuestionsAfter going out on the street, downloading and analyzing the data we found that we had not captured everything we needed. We had questions we did not need and new questions we needed.

Changes cost money. Go out and look at the households, trash and recycling containers and follow the trucks to get a sense of what is out there.

Another factor to consider is time. To take data you need to be as fast as the truck you are follow when taking set-out rates. You cannot count trash if the bags have already been thrown in the truck. You can’t see recycling contamination if you aren’t looking at the cart when it is being picked up and emptied.

This property owner at #41 is recycling!

Don’t judge too soon!• Residents could be on vacation• Seniors, or other individuals, may not put recycling out every time• Look at trash to determine what is put out• Check property at a later date

Property owner at #7 is not recycling.Out in the field

The software allows you to take a picture and attach it to the property file.

The data download via email is in an excel spreadsheet and has 91 fields for Amesbury. This is too many to work with and there are many fields that are not needed. The software is derived from the Assessor’s data base so there are many fields that do not apply to what we are doing.

Save the download as is, then copy that worksheet and work with the that one by deleting the data you do not need.

Amesbury’s recycling collection is every other week and we designate each day with a collection code that corresponds with resident’s recycling day.

Sorting the Data Download

Analyzing the Data

Reports are printed out for each days route for properties that need to be checked.

Data is sorted by “Collection Day”.

The line highlighted in red is a property that has received several “help” and “warning” stickers, cards and mailings. We have tried to contact the owner andkeep this property on our radar.

The line highlighted in blue concerns us and more investigating needs to be done.

LA4 (MA Dept. of Revenue Assessment/Classification Report) Form does not reflect the same property breakdowns that Amesbury Municipal hauling and collection Contract uses.

We can sort by use code and take out classifications we do not need, like 1120 “More than 8 units or “Open Space” 2010 through 2890, etc.

Challenges

ChallengesCondos property slides function a little differently in this software.

The first slide shows 1 Huntington Ave. and it has a total of 6 units. The second slide shows unit 3 of the 6. Each condo has a separate slide with the corresponding property owner’s information. This allows each slide to account for each condo owner’s recycling and waste practices. Each slide is reported separately when the data is downloaded.

Benefits of Accountability1) Able to track who is and is not recycling and be able to reach out to them.

2) Able to determine the set-out rates at any given time.

3) Able to keep track of different circumstances, ex. Senior citizen who lives alone only puts out recycling cart once a month.

4) Able to track the progression of education and warnings a particular property has, especially when you are out in the field.1) This property owner has received an orange

“Got Recycling” card. (First educational flyer)

5) Allows staff to pull up a piece of property when an owner calls in about a card we left or an issue with collection.

6) Allows staff the ability to keep track of hauler issues at a particular site.

7) The overall set-out percentage for Monday, Tuesday and Friday Fall 2015 is 92.8% compared to 66.9% a year ago!

8) And much more!

Questions?

•*If you are not for ZERO WASTE, how much waste are you for?

* Gary Liss

Laurie Piercelaurie@amesburyma.govCity of AmesburyDept. of Public WorksActing Recycling, Trash and Compost Coordinator